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annabethy · 3 years

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under the mistletoe, watching the fire glow: day 2

Day 02/25 Days of Christmas: Character A’s best friend rigs the Secret Santa because they know Character A has a crush on Character B,, percabeth

Percy is so distracted that he almost doesn’t catch someone whispering his name across the room. When he realizes that it’s Leo calling his name, he wishes he hadn’t noticed because he knows that whatever is about to come out of that kid’s mouth is not going to be good.

“What?” Percy hisses when Leo doesn’t stop the rather obvious hissing.

Leo stands up from the table along the wall so that he can make his way across the dorm’s common room and plop down directly next to Percy. “So.”

When he says nothing else, Percy prompts, “So…?”

“You’re in love with Annabeth, yeah?”

“I’m sorry — what?”

“You, like, want to marry her.”

Percy swallows, eyes darting towards the girl that was only sitting a few feet away. “I don’t.”

“Yeah, okay big boy. Suuure you don’t want to marry her.”

“Maybe shut up, yeah?”

Leo gives his signature impish grin. “I’m just speaking the truth.”

“Yeah, well, your truth sucks.”

Percy wishes he could say that Leo was lying through his teeth like he usually does, but this one’s the painful reality. He was in love with his best friend, and Leo was shouting it out to the world, and also to Annabeth who was practically right next to him. For once, he’s glad that she can’t ever listen to people talking while she’s studying.

“Here’s the thing.” Leo pats Percy’s hand like he was consoling a child. “Secret Santa.”

“What about it?”

“You’re going to get Annabeth.”

The way that Leo whispers it is only mildly comical. It sounds more like he’s praying than telling, in Percy’s opinion. “What, are you manifesting it or something?”

“No. I’m rigging Secret Santa.”

“What!? No!”

“You want to date her, don’t you?” When Percy opens his mouth to disagree, Leo continues, “The answer is yes, you do. And to be honest, I’m sick of watching you two flounder around each other, so this is more for my benefit than yours.”

“You’re an ass.”

“You won’t be saying that when you get married, buddy.”

Percy gives him a scathing look as he pointedly turns his head away from Leo. Leo mutters something under his breath that Percy does not bother to decipher because it would probably make Percy want to stab someone in the name of Christmas spirit. He’s already mortified enough that everyone seems to know about his infatuation with his best friend, probably including Annabeth too, so he does not need Leo to rub it in even more.

“Percy,” Leo grunts as his fingers wrap around Percy’s neck and pull in an attempt to get Percy to face him again. He ends up choking for air as Leo cuts off his trachea, and Leo clambers to grab a fistful of hair instead. Percy lets out a strangled shriek as he is pulled off the couch sharply by his head.

“Stop it!”

“Listen to me,” Leo says, peering over the edge at where Percy is now laying on the floor, rubbing the back of his head. Percy ends up staying on the floor so that he’s out of Leo’s reach. “When we get together for Secret Santa, you’re going to pick first. Pick the one that has green marker on the outside.”

“And break the rules of the game?”

“It’s still a secret to her. Do it.”

Percy doesn’t plan on doing it. The few hours waiting for the rest of their friends to meet up are spent with him going back and forth in his own mind as to why he should definitely not pick her name. It defeats the whole purpose of the game, but at the same time, she won’t know that he purposely picked her. But on the other hand, if he somehow manages to win her over with whatever gift he picks out, he’ll have to admit it at some point. With his luck, they’d be married about to have a baby when he’s like oh yeah, by the way, I purposely got you because I’m a cheater, and she’ll be so offended, all oh yeah, by the way, I’m also a cheater and it’s not your baby, and his heart will shatter into a million pieces.

So perhaps he’s being a little dramatic, but he likes to think his concerns are at least somewhat legitimate. Like, maybe 43 percent valid.

In the end though, Percy catches sight of that green mark on a slip of paper, and his hand grabs it with a mind of its own. As he uncurls the paper, he traces over her writing with his finger. He swears he could pick her writing out of a line up, with the unique curves of her penmanship.

Percy pretends not to notice Leo’s mocking grin from across the circle, instead turning his attention towards Annabeth, watching her pick out his name.

For the next few days, Percy doesn’t think he’s ever been more stressed. It’s as though Percy doesn’t even know Annabeth anymore because he’s suddenly at a blank for anything that she likes. He can’t even remember her favorite color or lifelong dreams because he’s just that nervous. He’s beginning to wish that he hadn’t picked that green slip, but it was too late to go back now. He had no choice but to make an embarrassment of himself when he shows up with something awful, or nothing at all.

It comes unexpectedly when he finds the present. It’s a simple ring with a silver band and an emerald sitting in the center, and it practically has her name written on it. He imagines what it would look like sitting on her finger, the green gem gleaming in the sunlight, reminiscent of his eyes.

It’s not until after he makes the purchase that it dawns on him how much of a boyfriend thing it is to buy someone a ring. And, of course, Annabeth would say something about it being an engagement ring because that’s just what she does, and he would die on the spot. He loves her so much, but she doesn’t know that, and a ring would no doubt reveal at least some of what he was feeling if she somehow didn’t already know.

He dreads the day of Secret Santa.

All too soon, he is sitting in a circle with his friends, everyone holding a present in their hands. When it comes time to exchange the gifts, Percy hesitantly hands his to Annabeth. He can sense the shock on her face, and a warm sense fills him as he also senses the underlying excitement in her face.

“You got me something expensive, right?” she asks playfully.

“You wish,” is what he replies, but his painfully empty wallet disagrees.

Annabeth smiles at him, a cute dimple appearing on her cheek, as she pulls the tissue paper out of the present bag. She makes an offhanded comment about the Rudolph gift bag before she pulls out everything at once. He hadn’t wanted to just get her one thing, so he stuffed it with a few of her favorite snacks. Leo had called him a simp when he found out.

“Hurry up,” he chides. “Get off my ass, Percy,” she says, but she picks up the small box he knows contains the ring. The rest of the room seems to drown out as she flicks open the top. He catches sight of the ring in the box, and now he really wants to pass out, or throw up, or both.

Annabeth’s face is unreadable as she thumbs the gem. Then, her face breaks into a soft grin and he feels marginally better. “A ring?”

“I saw it and thought of you. I didn’t even realize what I was doing until it was paid for.” He bites his lip. “I can return it if you don’t want it. I know it might seem weird, but I just really wanted—“

Annabeth uses her socked foot to nudge his knee and get him to stop talking. “I really love it, Percy.”

“You do?”

“Of course I do,” she says, rolling her eyes. She slides it onto her left ring finger, holding it up for her own inspection. “It’s like an engagement ring!”

Percy cracks a grin. “I knew you’d say that.”

“It’s not a bad thing,” she adds. “I’d love being engaged to you. You’d be the world’s best husband.”

Percy’s heart nearly stops.

“God, I love you,” she groans, crawling over the floor so that she can collapse in his lap like a wet noodle. It’s not unusual for them. They’ve always been the two to cuddle platonically during a movie, or just take a nap together, but nothing more. Right now though, Percy feels like this is a lot more than usual as he wraps his arms around her in a hug.

Annabeth lifts herself back up, and he nearly whines at the loss of contact. That is quickly taken off his mind though as she turns around with a present in hand.

“Your turn,” she says, and Percy’s jaw drops open.

“You got me!” he exclaims excitedly, reaching for the present.

“I know,” she says teasingly. “I nearly gagged when I picked your name.”

“Nice to see that you care.”

She patters her feet against the floor excitedly. “Open it!”

And he does. The bag is slightly bigger than hers was, so he struggles a bit to get the item out. When he does though, he feels like crying. He’s met with a thin silver frame, but inside of it is what really gets him. It’s a painting of the two of them — a picture he thought he lost a long time ago. Her arms are thrown over his shoulders from behind as she gives him a kiss on the cheek, and Percy is staring directly into the camera, the biggest smile on his face. He remembers taking that years ago on a stranger’s polaroid. He carried it around forever, everywhere he went, until it just seemed to disappear one day. He was so distraught because it was the only copy, but he’s forgotten about it until now, and—

Percy’s eyes begin to brim with tears. “Where did you get this?”

“I took a picture of it,” she says gently. “There was someone on etsy that was painting pictures, and so I thought you’d like to have this one.”

“God.” Percy’s eyes trace over the image, trying to burn the picture into his mind, every single curve and color. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

“It’s no ring, but…”

“Annabeth,” Percy says, stopping her. “I love it.”

“And I love you.”

Something burns in Percy’s stomach. There’s something in the way that she’s looking at him that makes his breath stutter. It’s too soft and she’s too close to him. He wants so badly to pull her in close, to hug her and kiss her because she’s wearing his ring and a sweater she stole from his closet and she’s his best friend that he’s in love with.

Percy’s face is suddenly in front of Annabeth’s, and he can feel her breaths hitting his face. He doesn’t know if people are watching, but he can’t be bothered enough to check.

“Thank you,” Percy whispers. “It means a lot.”

“I’m sure it did.”

There’s a comfortable pause where Percy just looks at her, counts her eyelashes, appreciates the perfect curve of her nose before she says, “Are you going to kiss me or just stare?”

Percy smiles and takes that as an invitation. He wraps his fingers around the curve of her back, pulling her onto his lap and bringing her lips to his. It feels like he’s kissing his best friend, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s not a perfect kiss because she’s tangled awkwardly in his limbs, both of them sprawled on the floor, and there are people screaming around them, but it’s still everything he’s ever thought it would be.

When he finally pulls away, she’s looking at him with something akin to love. He smiles, and so does he, and Leo makes a snarky comment, and he never wants to leave this moment.

“So,” she says, breathless and happy, “I have something to tell you.”

“You love me?”

“That, and I may have purposely picked your name.”

Percy throw his head back and laughs, and he thinks that he’s met his soulmate.

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #percabeth #pjo #Percy Jackson and the olympians #my writing

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thejudgingtrash · 3 years

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🌳

Thank you for sending me a prompt :D This one shot it definitely not proofread, so I'm sorry about that.

I tried to do something different aside from Percabeth for once - Ruegard! Also tw: character death

Thorns and Roses

Silena looked at her. “Clarisse…” she mumbled.

“No. Please don’t,” Clarisse cried. Tears clouded her vision and her last moments with her.

“I’m so sorry.”

It took a mere split second for Clarisse to fall deep for her. It was a lazy glance to the side of the arena, when she saw her smile and wink. The encouraging wave of her hand that rose as Clarisse slammed Percy with her magical spear.

But that was all that it took, many summers ago. It was all that Clarisse little hardened heart needed. Clarisse La Rue, formally bully exterior, now nothing but a shell of destruction and failure.

She was truly her father’s creation. Her looks, her wit, her sharpened senses, her rage. All came from him unfortunately. But with the looks came the bad. The legitimate children of Zeus and Hera were cursed, no one wanted to admit it. They lacked in tact, they lacked in grace. Their status was only high lightened by their status and birth rights.

The captivating beauty of one Silena Beauregard was all that made Clarisse nearly forget those facts. Those pesky thoughts that had haunted her ever since she was a child. A child of Ares who had the greatest honor and the greatest displeasure of actually meeting her father.

The minute the son of Poseidon stepped into the camp; everyone knew. He looked like a younger and smaller version of his father; most people just played the indifferent card aside from that annoying Athena girl. Had Annabeth owned the medical tool kit from the Apollo cabin, she would have dissected Percy as if he were an insect. But no. Percy was successful with retrieving the lightning bolt and found out that one of the most beloved and prominent campers was a traitor. It was a wonder that Luke never bothered to try to recruit from the Ares cabin. With Clarisse on his side, it would have been a stroll through the parks, waging war against Olympus. Not only that, Percy had the nerve to humiliate her father for all to see. The Ares cabin had been the laughing stock for a whole year.

Then the sea rat stole her mission and final chance to shine and marked Clarisse’s downfall. Disgust. That was what her father breathed the few times she had seen him and pleaded for his advice. Strategizing wasn’t the strength of the legitimate war children. It was blood lust, destruction, interruption. And just like that he had wiped the Iris message with his hand, closing their call.

Clarisse La Rue, the biggest failure on Mount Olympus. But she was different. Silena, who greeted her every day. Silena who asked how she was feeling. It was Silena who was nurturing and caring. She who clearly sought her out and bonded with Clarisse. The campers saw it and yet they didn’t. Clarisse turned from the loud and brash leader of the cabin into a more solemn version of herself.

Love and war. Thorns and roses. They were opposites, but who was about to say they would attract each other? Love was pure and soft. It made you swoon and see the world through different lenses. War was the other side of the spectrum. It tore apart, it hurt, it caused pain. It would leave scars for eternity as love stood by its side to caress it. Ares and Aphrodite. Two forces not to be reckoned with. The beauty of a rose was always accompanied by the pain of its thorns.

“I want to see Charlie. See… Charlie…” coughed Silena. Blood sticked to her torn lips.

“I’m in love,” Silena had giggled back then. She tried to bite the smile down that came through anyways. Just like always.

Clarisse could hear her own heart beat louder with every new tact. It was beating to the rhythm of anticipation. She licked her lips and tried not to nervously touch her dull hair. I love you too.

“It’s Charlie, Charles Beckendorf.” Silena admitted, her blue eyes shining as bright as a thousand stars. Then she smiled again and broke Clarisse’s heart into tiny pieces.

It was the greatest irony of them all that a child of Hephaestus stole the heart of the daughter of Aphrodite all while the mighty speechless fruit of Ares could do nothing but sit there and watch. The gods must have a feast with that gossip on Mount Olympus.

O gods, why did you shoot Clarisse with the arrow of love? Eros, how could you? Didn’t she suffer enough shame and humiliation? It wasn’t that Clarisse was angry or disappointed. She was truly as happy for Silena as Silena was in love. She wanted to see her flower bloom and see her smile every day. If it meant that it was Charles who captured that precious place so be it.

But it was… Jealousy? No, Clarisse didn’t want to steal Silena away from Beckendorf. They deserved each other. Despite the children of Hephaestus being mental twins to the children of Ares, both with their and non-conforming looks, their strength and the cautious glances the other campers threw into their direction, Clarisse didn’t wish her cousin any harm. Beckendorf was shy around Silena and even if watching them share small kisses here and there caused Clarisse’s stomach to drop. She wanted Silena to blossom.

It was envy. If Clarisse could switch parts with Beckendorf she would do so in a heartbeat. He was polite and quite popular even if he wasn’t aware of it. While most of Hephaestus’ creations had a harsh tone to them, Beckendorf was truly one of his best to rise. The heart of a fighter and the smarts that could beat any quantum computer. And he beat Clarisse too, when it came to Silena Beauregard’s heart.

Clarisse tried to branch out, meet new people even in camp. She tried to keep an eye out for any other possible romantic partner, alas to no success. She was no dainty small girl which others seemed to prefer. She had her height and her muscles in her arm that beat most mortal men. No chance for her witty and empathetic personality to shine through.

Clarisse was no child of Aphrodite. She couldn’t smell emotions on a whim, but her father’s powers gave her a similar skillset. She could sense whenever something wasn’t right and it started months ago before the Battle of Manhattan. Silena was distant. Her hair was less shiny and her eyes as dull as the calm seas. She couldn’t look her in the eyes. She was distracted, looked to the side.

Something was off with her, no matter how much positivity the daughter of Aphrodite used to cover her tracks. Clarisse could tell, but she was tactful enough to not pry. Oh, had she pried back then. She had seen the signs, why didn’t she step up and say something? The difference between desperation and the calm before the storm was so small.

Silena ran away from Clarisse as if she had been hit by the arrow of hatred. The beauty could tell that she was unable to deceive her dearest friend. So, she stopped talking to her at all, avoiding her on every occasion. No more boy trouble, no more talks, no more sneaking off to the beach, no more laying down and watching the stars. Well, Silena watched the stars. Clarisse could only see her.

The manipulation of the Aphrodite cabin never worked on the children of Ares. They saw clear through lies and deception. In war every moment counted. You needed to be one with your environment. You needed to know your opponent. Was he stronger than you? Did he have more men? Was he able to do things you could never do? Would he risk things you would never do?

Avoidance was clearly the better tactic. Silena had learned a lot from Annabeth and the other children of Athena back in those days.

The moment Clarisse’s heart began to break forever was when it turned out that Silena had been the spy for the cursed Castellan boy. That he was. A naïve boy who thought that whining and throwing a fit on the ground would cause change. As the son of one of the master manipulators on Mount Olympus, Luke should have seen Kronos’ betrayal a mile away. But he was a broken and cursed boy like all of them, a kid in college and the Titan Lord cracked him like a walnut. No one in camp could have resisted, not even the strongest children like Percy, Thalia and Nico.

But why her? Why Silena? What did he do to Clarisse’s sweet Silena? What did he do that made her lights go out forever? What did he do to let her die like that? She deserved the death of a warrior, not the death of being the traitor’s second-class shadow.

Silena had chosen her in the end. Her, poor Clarisse La Rue. Like Patroclus and Achilles back then, millennia ago. She chose to disguise herself as Clarisse. The greatest deception, a war tactic of its own.

How had Achilles overcome his loss? How did he mourn? With agony. With the most destructive pain. With anger. Was he ever reunited with his lover? Clarisse did not know the answer. All she saw was her rose wilting on the dirty grounds of Manhattan.

The poison tore Silena’s face apart, the sad reminder of her being was slowly decaying. The shell of her being. The pain that she left in Clarisse’s heart. Silena had coughed and Clarisse knew it was time for Thanatos to put an end and for Hermes to bring her to the other side. She knew it, yet didn’t want to face the truth. It would break her already broken heart.

“Why did you do this?” whimpered Clarisse. “Why did you, you silly girl?”

But Clarisse knew why. It was like always – Silena did it out of love. Both for Beckendorf and for her. Her last moment was dedicated to the both of them.

The last red petal fell. It was just like that. One last breath and her life force was gone, the eyes dull and an ash gray layer covered her. The teary blue eyes. It was no picture for the gods yet something Clarisse would never forget. Of that she was certain. Silena’s black hair was framing her body like a dark halo. They were putting down roots on the cold and hard concrete. The final whispers of an escaped nymph making peace with the situation.

A piercing cry haltered all movements. Monsters and men alike. It echoed through the streets and drowned out all the noise from the battle grounds. Today they would die. Rage covered every inch of her body. The movements were robotic as if a parasite had taken over her, but it truly was the devastation that manifested itself within Clarisse’s mind.

She had killed that fucking drakon just like it killed one of the most precious people on earth. She never had the chance to hell her that she loved her dearly and sincerely. Deep down Clarisse knew that Silena knew the entire time. But she never had the guts to say it to her face, rejection be damned. To be freed of the burden and speak her truth. Clear her consciousness and her mind.

She was shaking with pain and desperation. Every muscle, every thought burned and hurt. Clarisse channeled all the ugliness of war. All of her strength just for her. She who had just left this plane of existance.

Clarisse had lost her.

The thorns had lost their beauty.

And they would all pay for it.

I hope the Apollon and Daphne theme shone through ^^ lmk what you think!!

#greenteamatchas #Mel answers #mel writes #pjo #percy jackson #clarisse la rue #silena beauregard #ruegard #clarena #pjo fanfic #TLO #the last olympian #death

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welllpthisishappening · 3 years

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Welllp This is...Books. Lots and Lots of Books

That gif is something of a lie. Some of these books were not great. But! Some of them were very good! And some of them were marketed weird — seriously, what does qualify as YA — and some of them I read in, like, six hours and some of them I raged about for six hours after I finished them.

Or: 2020!Laura reverted to 2004!Laura and read just a lot of books and then her husband got her a Kindle and she read even more books and has thoughts on most of those books that she is now going to share with the internet while also making absurd category names. Note that these are only books I read for the first time this year. So, the list is missing some of the stuff I used as coping devices. ALSO SOME SPOILERS AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

FAVORITE BOOKS THAT MADE A SHITTY YEAR SLIGHTLY BETTER AND ALSO LIKELY MADE ME SWOON A BIT

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he's not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever.

— I kid you not, I had to do a lap around the apartment after reading the second book in this series. Why didn’t I read this before? Why isn’t there more fic? Why I am constantly falling for dark-haired sad dudes in love with their wives??? I cannot rec this series enough. It’s got world building and found families, and that dark-haired sad dude, and magic and lore and banter, and it’s so good and I don’t understand why it was marketed as YA. The literary world is weird, guys.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (and the Heroes of Olympus) by Rick Riordan

Accompany the son of the sea god Poseidon and his other demigod friends as they go on a series of quests that will have them facing monsters, gods, and conniving figures from Greek mythology. Do they have what it takes to save the Olympians from an ancient enemy?

— Straight up, how did you guys cope with Percy and Annabeth when you were kids reading this? I would have been OBSESSED. Quarantine felt like the perfect time to finally read all of these books, and I know it’s sacrilegious to like Heroes of Olympus, but I might have liked parts of that series more? Just because it felt like they were older and I was super into Percabeth being properly in love. Also, now I get why everyone was so upset about the movies. Fair.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

— Yet another YA series that I will admit to loving this year. Started off a little slow, but once the world building really got underway —and it gets underway — I was hooked. If I had read this at an age-appropriate time I would have been super in love Captain Carswell Thorne. I was still kind of in love with Captan Carswell Thorne. So it should come as no surprise that Cress was my favorite of the series, but I enjoyed the whole thing, really.

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage.Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all.

— YO. Y O. THIS WAS SO GOOD. World building! Magic! Marriage of convenience! Well-written enemies to lovers! As soon as I finished this, I bought the sequel. And then got upset the third book in the series isn’t out yet! That’s a frustrating theme for me this year.

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She's the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara's childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it's also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there's a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn't looked him up on the Internet...

Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton's most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they're lucky, they'll help everyone else get lucky too.

— I LOVED IT. L O V E D. As I told Justin “there was more porn than I was expecting,” in that porn and the adult film industry was a legitimate plot point and not just a part of Josh’s character, but it was incredibly well written and interesting and I cared about the plot. Sometimes I also wanted to shake Clara, but that was kind of the point.

The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn't know he's arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door...

As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he's forced to share his space with the owner's beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.

As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.

— More well-written enemies to lovers! It’s possible! Seriously, the banter was so good. The kissing was even better. Ridiculous and interfering family is one of my favorite things, and this had it in SPADES. It also made me want to eat samosas, which is kind of my base setting, but I really wanted Indian food whenever I was reading this. Also, the end scene was so goddamn cute I cannot believe it actually happened.

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev

— The one that got away is one of my favorite tropes, and this modern version of Persuasion did it so well. Everyone was annoying, but in an almost understandable way that made me ache and I just wanted them TO KISS. And then they did kiss! And it was so good! Plus, at the risk of being a little self-indulgent, it was kind of Out of the Frying Pan esque and I liked that a lot. If there is a downside: it’s how quickly the relationship starts up again, like zero to 60 in two seconds flat, and that there were a lot of POVs. Which wouldn’t have been an issue if they’d been labeled, or weren’t bouncing around the timeline randomly. Sometimes I’d have to be like—wait, who’s talking about what?

Chef Ashna Raje desperately needs a new strategy. How else can she save her beloved restaurant and prove to her estranged, overachieving mother that she isn't a complete screw up? When she's asked to join the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She's a chef, what's the worst that could happen?Rico Silva, that's what.Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster.FIFA winning soccer star Rico Silva isn't too happy to be paired up with Ashna either. Losing Ashna years ago almost destroyed him. The only silver lining to this bizarre situation is that he can finally prove to Ashna that he's definitely over her.But when their catastrophic first meeting goes viral, social media becomes obsessed with their chemistry. The competition on the show is fierce...and so is the simmering desire between Ashna and Rico. Every minute they spend together rekindles feelings that pull them toward their disastrous past. Will letting go again be another recipe for heartbreak—or a recipe for persuasion...?

The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting

Lilah isn't sure what hurt worse: the day Ethan left her to focus on his hockey career or the day he came back eight years later. He might think they can pick up just where they left off, but she's no longer that same girl and never wants to be again.

Just when Lilah might finally be ready to let Ethan in, though, she finds out their reunion might have nothing to do with love and everything to do with improving his game. But Ethan's already lost her once, and even if it costs him his career, he'll do anything to keep from losing her again.

— HOCKEY ROM COM. HOCKEY. ROM. COM. Apparently this lady is regarded as the queen of “hockey romance,” which I kind of take offense to, but will give a pass on because this was a very cute book and everyone was cute in it and I was only marginally frustrated by those same people being idiots. As is required by rom coms. Hockey, or otherwise.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Fall in love, break the curse. It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom. A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

— Beauty and the Beast AU!!! Fantasy! Magic! Romance! I loved this, even when Rhen was being a whiny idiot. But he was also cursed, so like—fair. This dives into the politics of a cursed kingdom, puts a fun spin on the original fairy tale and also has a sequel. Which I read, and possibly enjoyed more. Only to realize the third book isn’t published yet, and then got annoyed by that.

QUESTIONABLY-GOOD FREE FANTASY BOOKS ON AMAZON

The Silver and Orchids Collection by Shari L Tapscott

What happens when a feisty adventuress, a lord looking to make his own way in the world, and a handsome sea captain set out to find Kalae’s rarest and most valuable flower?

Trouble—and lots of it.

— Snarky flirting! Adventure! Sword fights! Listen, this is not prize-winning fiction, but Lucia is a fun heroine, the rest of her adventure-seeking friends are an absolute delight and you don’t have to think too much while reading it. All four books wrap up their individual storylines, but help set up the next one and while the ending felt a little forced (and way too quick) I didn’t hate it enough to throw the Kindle across the room.

Forest of Firelight by Shari L. Tapscsott

After the sudden death of her brother, Princess Amalia is charged with what feels like an impossible task—she must choose the next king. Youthful thoughts of love are pushed aside as she accepts her fate, setting upon a quest throughout the kingdom to find a man worthy of her father’s throne.

Little does Amalia know, someone has already set his sights on her.

Rhys is a man of secrets, and his mission is simple: befriend the princess of Renove. Coax her to trust him, convince her to follow him.

Betray her when it’s time.

All goes according to plan until Rhys meets the princess. Amalia is a disaster. Never has he met someone so drawn to trouble. Never has he met someone so irritatingly likable.

He’s not allowed to fall for her.

She could never entrust him with a crown.

But, unbeknownst to them, their unlikely partnership might be the key to saving their entire world from a darkness that’s slowly creeping from the wounded earth that separates one kingdom from the next.

— FORBIDDEN LOVE! It’s good! Real good! I read this whole series (or the three books in it, so far) in a questionably short amount of time. Again, not the deepest story, and Amalia is occasionally frustratingly dumb. While Rhys is also sort of all-knowing in that fantasy hero sort of way? Y’know what I mean? Still, they banter very well, and eventually kiss even better.

LESS GOOD FANTASY BOOKS THAT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE JUST BEEN AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON AMAZON

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess—a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She's endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn't always won on the battlefield.

For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

— I wanted to love this series. So much so that I read the whole thing. All three books. And I’m still not sure why. The world building, maybe. Which was very good, and the politics actually kept me interested, but every single character was the absolute worst and I kind of wanted them all to die. That’s not even an exaggeration. Spoiler, they didn’t all die. I was only marginally disappointed.

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

When the ruthless Pirate King learns of a legendary treasure map hidden on an enemy ship, his daughter, Alosa, knows that there's only one pirate for the job—herself. Leaving behind her beloved ship and crew, Alosa deliberately facilitates her own kidnapping to ensure her passage on the enemy ship. After all, who's going to suspect a seventeen-year-old girl locked in a cell?Then she meets the (surprisingly perceptive and unfairly attractive) first mate, Riden, who is charged with finding out all her secrets. Now it's down to a battle of wits and will... Can Alosa find the map and escape before Riden figures out her plan?

— Alosa was kind of the worst? Like, STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER who had to keep reminding you how strong she was because she would kill anyone, and had an all female pirate crew. And the whole time I was just like, ok...cool. Still, I read the sequel too and that was slightly better.

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:

1) Woo the Shadow King.

2) Marry him.

3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King's power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she's going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra's not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

— I cannot explain this book any way except to tell you it is so weird. Like, sometimes I remember I read this and all I can think is: why did this book happen? It felt like it started in the middle of the story, which is not a knock on the story itself, but mostly on the world building. Which was lacking to say the least. Also the resolution was super rushed and even more weird and I was like—why does he like her??? I still don’t know, honestly.

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne

Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie "Leo" Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, has only one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?

But when Leo's childhood friend and first love, Elliot, returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one who got away, the boy Leo's family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now he's the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo's life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself falling for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.

— Another book whose lack of world building hurt it. Stuff just happened, and we were expected to understand it and be into it and I was neither. I had no reason to care about anyone in this book, especially Elliot who seemed like an asshole.

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian's heart to the Sea Queen and or remain a human forever.The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it's his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she's more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind's greatest enemy?

— This book did not go the way I thought it was going to. Not a bad thing, but also not the best and the ending was...bleh. The middle, though? That was legit, and the action was good. I am always a fan of sword fights. Still, there was something that left me waiting for the final push towards great and it just never really came.

ROM-COMS WITH ONLY PASSABLY FRUSTRATING PLOTS AND GOOD KISSING

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory

Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe's mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Olivia has zero interest in dating a politician, but when a cake arrives at her office with the cutest message, she can't resist—it is chocolate cake, after all.

Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny, and noble—not just some privileged white politician, as she assumed him to be. Because of Max's high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?

— It was cute. Max was occasionally an idiot. The kissing was legit. Most of their problems could have very easily been solved, but that’s kind of this genre’s schtick.

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa

A wedding planner left at the altar? Yeah, the irony isn't lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina's offered an opportunity that could change her life. There's just one hitch... she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials. Marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he'll be working with his brother's whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him.If they can nail their presentation without killing each other, they'll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina's ready to dish out a little payback of her own.Soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn't interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again...

— Once you got past the hooking up with your ex’s brother thing, it was cute. Max was endearing in an earnest sort of way, even when Lina was STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER in a cliche sort of way. More solid kissing. Side note, why are so many rom com dudes named Max? Does it sound hip? Passably cool, but also approachable? Discuss.

Not that Kind of Guy by Andie J. Christopher

State attorney Bridget Nolan is successful in all aspects of her life—except romance. After breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, she's been slow to reenter the dating scene. To be honest, she has more important things to do like putting bad guys behind bars. But with her brother's wedding right around the corner, she suddenly needs a date and fast. Lucky for Bridget, the legal intern is almost done with his program.

Matt Kido is dumbstruck by Bridget—total love at first sight—but there's one problem. She's totally off-limits while she's his boss. But the moment he no longer reports to her, Matt asks her on a date. An impulsive decision takes them to Las Vegas where, as the saying goes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Unless you put a ring on it.

— Having written the “wake up in Vegas married” trope before, I know it’s difficult to do right. Consent’s a thing, y’know? And stuff gets dicy with forgotten memories, and all that, but mostly what kept me from truly loving this book was the intern thing. Don’t date your interns guys, it’s weird and off-putting. Literally if he’d just been a junior partner, or a visiting partner or something else I would have been all in.

Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

Kailyn Flowers was always calm, rational, and controlled—until she ended up sprawled all over Daxton Hughes, the former actor she totally crushed on as a teenager. Then she did the unthinkable: She became a mortifying fangirl in five seconds flat, which may or may not have included professing her undying love. And oddly, he didn't run away. In fact, their meet cute led to a friendship she never saw coming. Of course, she never saw his betrayal coming, either...Now Dax needs her help. As guardian to his thirteen-year-old sister, he's in way over his head. And though Kailyn hasn't forgiven Dax, she isn't heartless enough to make him fend for himself, either. Soon their friendly meetings turn into flirty dinner dates, and Kailyn can feel their chemistry is as explosive as ever. But how can she possibly let down her guard again to a guy who has heartbreak written all over him?

— Once again here for the one that got away trope, even if this comes with dead parents and some sad storylines. It still managed to be cute. Everyone was cute in it. Occasionally Daxton was a dick. As rom com male leads are apt to be.

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

If faking love is this easy... how do you know when it's real?When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling—not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When news of her ex's pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility.Jamie Carter doesn't believe in love, but he needs a respectable, steady girlfriend to impress their bosses. Laurie wants a hot new man to give the rumor mill something else to talk about. It's the perfect proposition: a fauxmance played out on social media, with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind. With the plan hatched, Laurie and Jamie begin to flaunt their new couple status, to the astonishment—and jealousy—of their friends and colleagues. But there's a fine line between pretending to be in love and actually falling for your charming, handsome fake boyfriend...

— FAKE DATING THAT LEADS TO REAL FEELINGS. The ex-boyfriend was an assssss, the fake boyfriend was charming, everything was good AND THEN WE GOT TO THE END. Which felt more than a little rushed, unexpected and not really in line with the rest of the book?? Give ‘em a slightly better, in-character ending, and I would have been sold.

BOOKS THAT I WAS LIKE...EH, OK

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

— I think this book was too smart for me. The prose was gorgeous, and the whole thing was very pretty and I definitely swooned when Marco said he wished for Celia. And yet. By the end I was like...eh, ok. Maybe it was the timeline? Jumping around, or how little dialogue there was. I wanted to like it all so badly, and I’m just not sure I did.

Acting on Impulse by Mia Sosa

After a very public breakup with a media-hungry politician, fitness trainer Tori Alvarez escapes to Aruba for rest, relaxation, and copious amounts of sex on the beach—the cocktail, that is. She vows to keep her vacation a man-free zone but when a cute guy is seated next to her on the plane, Tori can't resist a little harmless flirting.Hollywood heartthrob Carter Stone underwent a dramatic physical transformation for his latest role and it's clear his stunning seat mate doesn't recognize the man beneath the shaggy beard and extra lean frame. Now Carter needs help rebuilding his buff physique and Tori is perfect for the job. It doesn't hurt that she makes his pulse pound in more ways than one.Sparks are flying, until a pesky paparazzo reveals Carter's identity. Tori is hurt and pissed. She wants nothing to do with another man in the limelight, but she's still got to whip him into shape. Can Carter convince Tori he's worth the threat to her privacy that comes with dating a famous actor, or will Tori chisel him down to nothing before he even gets the chance?

— Dudes have gotta stop lying about who they are. It’s not a great trope. Other than that, the kissing was good. The romance was like...eh. I honestly don’t remember much else.

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world's biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he's the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it's possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason... and whether "once in a lifetime" can come around twice.

— This book was...weird. The early romance was wonderful and delightful, but then shit hit the fan and Sam and Tate are adults and...weird. Like, I cannot come up with another word for it. Also, they didn’t really talk much? As adults? Working on the same movie set? W e i r d.

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” And since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will?

It’s simply not in Fixie’s nature to say no to people. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, she not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, an investment manager, scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she?

But then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life, and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. As always, she wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. No sooner has Seb agreed than the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?

— Let’s be upfront, I’ve read a lot of Sophie Kinsella in my life, and more often than not I enjoy what she writes. I mostly did here. It was a book. With obvious rom com problems, that could have very easily been solved, but it wasn’t horrible. So, that was good, I guess.

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

Maddie and Theo have two things in common:

1. Alexa is their best friend

2. They hate each other

After an "oops, we made a mistake" night together, neither one can stop thinking about the other. With Alexa's wedding rapidly approaching, Maddie and Theo both share bridal party responsibilities that require more interaction with each other than they're comfortable with. Underneath the sharp barbs they toss at each other is a simmering attraction that won't fade. It builds until they find themselves sneaking off together to release some tension when Alexa isn't looking, agreeing they would end it once the wedding is over. When it's suddenly pushed up and they only have a few months left of secret rendezvouses, they find themselves regretting that the end is near. Two people this different can't possibly have a connection other than the purely physical, right?

But as with any engagement with a nemesis, there are unspoken rules that must be abided by. First and foremost, don't fall in love.

— Eh, this book happened. I still have no idea why they couldn’t be together from the get. Obstacles for the sake of plot, I guess. Also political side stories? I don’t know, guys.

WEIRD POST-ENDING FEELINGS WERE INDUCED

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

— Listen, I enjoyed this a lot. For the most part. It was funny, and introspective in a way that didn’t make me want to gag too much, and I wanted to defend January’s love of love with everything in me. But, then it—ended. And it was like...all tied up with this nice little ribbon and happily ever after, and I was like...oh, ok. Part of me that it was glad it ended like that, mostly because of who I am as a person, but the rest of me was also confused that after everything January and Augustus had been through and how messy their lives were it could just get all wrapped up in this HEA.

HITTING JUST A BIT TOO CLOSE TO HOME

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. The world may know him as Aeneas, star of the biggest show on television, but fanfiction readers call him something else: Book!AeneasWouldNever. Marcus gets out his frustrations with the show through anonymous stories about the internet's favorite couple, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone discovered his online persona, he'd be finished in Hollywood.April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she's long hidden her fanfic and cosplay hobbies from her "real life"—but not anymore. When she dares to post her latest costume creation on Twitter, her plus-size take goes viral. And when Marcus asks her out to spite her internet critics, truth officially becomes stranger than fanfiction. On their date, Marcus quickly realizes he wants more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. But when he discovers she's Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to keep from her.With love and Marcus's career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?

— Here for plus-size heroines who get the guy and don’t have their (entire) storyline defined by their looks. Less here for the weird fandom culture, the ensuing second-hand embarrassment that came from that and the thankfulness that both Colin O’Donoghue and Bob Morley appear to be happily married so it seems very unlikely they’re writing fic about their characters under pseudonyms. Stop using Ao3 in actual published stories 2k4ever.

RAGE-INDUCING BOOKS OF ABSOLUTE FURY

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Kristen Peterson doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen — especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.

— LISTEN THERE ARE SPOILERS HERE, BUT I FEEL LIKE YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THEM BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS A SECRET GUT PUNCH AND PEOPLE SHOULD BE AWARE. Not only is infertility, like, the defining theme of this book, but the BEST FRIEND DIES. Just—dies. It’s horrible. Absolutely God awful depressing. And for a second he looks like he won’t, and it’ll be fine, but then it is not and he’s just D E A D. I know, I know that sets up the sequel, but this was so goddamn heavy in an unsuspecting way that I have absolutely no intention of reading the next one.

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon's family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn't have time for Emily's lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

— FUCK THIS BOOK. And fuck Simon, specifically. Oh, you have a sad story? Cool, you’re still a dick. He was a dick. Listen, I know enemies to lovers is a hard trope to write, but it’s even harder to accept when those enemies just announce I LIKED YOU THE WHOLE TIME and then everyone starts ripping off their clothes. No, it’s dumb. I hate it. Apparently there’s a sequel to this book. Maybe that’s better.

Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting

Blaire Calloway has planned every Instagram-worthy moment of her cupcake and cocktails shop launch down to the tiniest detail. What she didn't plan on? Ronan Knight and his old-school sports bar next door opening on the very same day. He may be super swoony, but Blaire hasn't spent years obsessing over buttercream and bourbon to have him ruin her chance at success.From axe throwing (his place) to frosting contests (hers), Blaire and Ronan are constantly trying to one-up each other in a battle to win new customers. But with every clash, there's also an undeniable chemistry. When an even bigger threat to their business comes to town, they're forced to call a temporary time-out on their own war and work together. And the more time Blaire spends getting to know the real Ronan, the more she wonders if it's possible to have her cupcake and eat it too.

— Listen, I wanted to like this one. There were plenty other Helena Hunting books on this list, so like—I don’t hate her. I just hate poorly executed enemies to lovers plot lines. Give me at least one moment where they are interested in each other aside from just being attracted to each other. Also: Stop Having Dudes Be Dicks Because Of Their Sad Backstory 2k4ever.

Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane

You always remember your first love... don't you?If there's anything worse than being fired from the worst restaurant in town, it's coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else. Reeling from the humiliation of a double dumping in one day, Georgina takes the next job that comes her way—bartender in a newly opened pub. There's only one problem: it's run by the guy she fell in love with years ago. And—make that two problems—he doesn't remember her. At all. But she has fabulous friends and her signature hot pink fur coat... what more could a girl really need?Lucas McCarthy has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but he's also turned into an actual grown-up, with a thriving business and a dog along the way. Crossing paths with him again throws Georgina's rocky present into sharp relief—and brings a secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows what happened twelve years ago, and why she's allowed the memories to chase her ever since. But maybe it's not too late for the truth... or a second chance with the one that got away?

— HE WAS JUST PRETENDING NOT TO REMEMBER HER THE WHOLE TIME???? WHAT?? WHY??? D U M B. Dumb boys are dumb.

Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher

Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he's not sure he wants her to dump him.

Hannah is an extremely successful event planner who's focused on climbing the career ladder. Her firm is one of the most prestigious in the city, and she's determined to secure her next promotion. But Hannah has a bit of an image problem. She needs to show her boss that she has range, including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Enter Jack. He's the perfect man to date for a couple weeks to prove to her boss that she's not scared of feelings.

Before Jack and Hannah know it, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and neither of them can stand to lose each other.

— This is actually the prequel to Not That Kind of Guy and I honestly can’t believe I read that after hating this book so much. They were awful to each other! Their whole relationship was based on lies! Mean lies! Horrible lies! Don’t lie to your significant other!

#book recs #fiction recs #rom com recs #fantasy recs #or: i read solely fantasy and rom com books in 2020 #this does not include any david eddings or meg cabot rereads #which also happened #and i endorse them wholeheartedly too #if you have read any of these books PLEASE share your thoughts with me #i am desperate for them #or your own recs of what you read this year #laura reads books #welllp these are books

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knuffled · 4 years

Text

just practice - chapter ten

chapter ten is here, yay! hope you all enjoy it! somewhat important update in the notes at the end of the chapter on ao3 for those interested. thanks in advance!

ao3 link here

Holding the premier of the school play on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was a bold move in Annabeth’s opinion, so it was surprising that the school’s parking lot was nearly filled, although that almost certainly had to do with the fact that Piper was playing Viola in the school’s production of Twelfth Night. Her performances in the school plays had turned into something of local legend after all. It had all started when she landed the role of Ophelia as a freshman, a feat in and of itself, but it was the way that she had sent audiences home in tears each night of the production that had catapulted her to near mythic status among the student body. It had gotten to the point where even many members of the football team could be found patiently waiting in line to watch a Shakespearean play.

Ever prepared, Annabeth had come fairly early to help secure seats for herself and the rest of her friends. The moment the doors opened, she made a beeline for the rows close to the stage and found some center seats, but when the auditorium began to fill its seats quicker than she anticipated and none of her friends had yet to arrive, she was forced to concede all of the seats she’d reserved except for two, one on either side of her. As more and more of the seats began to get filled, She came close to sending a text in the group chat as her sense of worry grew. Fortunately, that was when Jason showed up, a grateful smile on his face as he sank into the seat next to her. He took off his jacket, draping it on the seatback, and rubbed at the dark bags beneath his eyes.

“You look like a panda,” Annabeth said, smirking.

Jason ran his fingers through his hair and scowled. “Very funny. I’ve been neck deep in planning for the stupid after-party, and it has been a total nightmare.”

“So I take it that working with Drew Tanaka isn’t a good time then?”

Jason rolled his eyes and said, “There’s just something about event planning that turns her into a demon. At one point, I legitimately thought she was going to skin me alive.”

“Very dramatic,” Annabeth teased, squeezing his shoulder. “At least the worst is over now.”

“I sure hope so,” Jason muttered. “Otherwise, I might not live to see another day.”

Annabeth was about to say something when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She fished it out and looked at the caller ID, which immediately sent a frisson of irritation running through her. That was probably the seventeenth time this random number had called her over the past two weeks. She didn’t recognize the number at all, but whoever it was happened to be incredibly persistent about calling her.

“That number again?” Jason asked.

Annabeth sighed and nodded. “It’s starting to get really fucking annoying.”

“You should just block ‘em and save yourself the trouble,” Jason said, shrugging.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Annabeth said, sighing. “I’ll do it after the show.”

Jason nodded and pulled out his phone to shoot some texts, presumably to the group organizing the after-party. Annabeth spent her time scrolling mindlessly through Twitter, waiting for Percy to show up, but he was still missing two minutes before the show was due to begin. It was only once the lights began to dim that Annabeth heard the familiar cadence of his footsteps behind her. Percy squeezed past the people who were already seated, murmuring apologies as he passed by, before he sank into the seat beside her. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and winced as he probed his upper back muscles.

Annabeth looked at him with concern and said, “Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better,” Percy said, grimacing.

“I swear your coach has been extending practices by an hour every month now since the start of the school year.”

Percy huffed a laugh. “You’re probably right. I swear, he’s trying to kill me. Literally every part of my body hurts right now.”

Annabeth frowned in the dark. In all his years on the team, she had never heard Percy complain about his body hurting after practices. His coach must have been pushing him even harder over this past month than normal. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

She leaned in to him to whisper to him and found her face heating up at the distracting scent of body wash and chlorine clinging to his skin, evidence of the post-practice shower he must have taken before coming here.

It took her a moment to collect her thoughts and mumble, “If you feel that bad, you should have just gone home. Piper would understand.”

“I’m not missing the premier just because I’m a little sore,” Percy said, shaking his head.

Annabeth paused before giving him a tentative nod and turning back to the stage, but she still felt lingering traces of embarrassment. That scent was beyond familiar to her and it had been for years, so she was troubled by how she had suddenly become so conscious of it.

Fortunately, the start of the play gave her a way to stop treading down that creepy train of thought. She had read Twelfth Night once during middle school, but it hadn’t made much of an impression on her. Seeing it performed now, the play was a lot better than she had remembered, but then again Piper had always insisted that there was a huge difference between reading a play versus seeing one live. For a high school play, Annabeth couldn’t help being impressed by the level of care and effort that had gone into every element of the production, from the set design to the lighting and wardrobe. Of course, the actors were great as well, but Piper stole the show as Annabeth had expected.

It took her a while to realize that Percy was mouthing lines beside her, nearly verbatim. At first, she’d thought she was hearing things, but when she stole a sidelong glance at Percy, she noticed that he was leaning forward in his seat, staring intently at the stage and whispering the lines to himself.

“But, indeed, words are very rascals, since bonds disgraced them,” Percy mouthed.

On stage, Piper said, “Thy reason, man?”

Percy whispered, "Troth, sir, I can yield you none without words, and words are grown so false, I am loathe to prove reason with them.”

Annabeth shook her head in amazement before knocking elbows with him to get his attention. He froze in his seat, face turning a gentle shade of vermilion in response to being caught, before turning to face her.

“You know all the lines?” Annabeth whispered incredulously.

Percy ducked his chin. “Not all of them, just the scenes where Piper has lines. Must have helped her rehearse them like a hundred times.”

“And let me guess, she didn’t ask for your help: you volunteered,” she said, sighing.

Annabeth found herself shaking her head again when he rubbed the back in his neck and looked away with a sheepish smile. It was amazing that Percy had managed to memorize all those lines, but it was even more impressive that he had done so while juggling all his other responsibilities. Her heart welled up inside her chest looking at him while he tried to not-so-subtly divert her attention back to the play, still blushing profusely, as if he didn’t realize he was more amazing in her eyes than anything Shakespeare could’ve ever written.

Before she knew it, the play was over, and Annabeth found herself waiting backstage with her friends for Piper to finish changing into her normal clothes. Leo and Frank spoke quietly to one another while Hazel was noodling with her phone. Jason drummed his fingers against his pants and rocked on his heels and kept looking down the hallway to the changing rooms with poorly suppressed excitement, practically embodying the spirit of a golden retriever. Percy stood beside her, leaning against a wall with his eyes closed, close enough for their elbows to touch.

When Piper showed up with an exhausted smile on her face, Jason rushed in and pulled her into a fierce hug.

“You were amazing,” he said.

Piper laughed tiredly and whispered, “Thanks, Jace.”

Jason stepped away suddenly and rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly embarrassed by such a public display of affection. Piper rolled her eyes and poked him with her elbow before turning to address the rest of them.

“Thank you all for coming tonight. I really appreciate it.”

“Jason is right,” Frank said. “You were really great out there tonight.”

Everyone chimed in with words of agreement, which flustered Piper a little, much to Annabeth’s delight. Piper rarely ever got flustered except when she got bombarded by compliments that she had rightfully earned. Percy was the only one who didn’t say anything, but he watched the entire scene with a soft smile on his face. Once she’d given everyone else a hug, Piper met Percy’s eyes, her eyes shining with gratitude, and a wordless understanding passed between them.

“So, after-party everyone?” Jason asked.

Piper leaned against him and nodded tiredly. “I could certainly use a drink right now.”

Jason smiled before turning to the group and saying, “It’s at Drew’s place. I texted the address to our group chat in case anyone didn’t remember it.”

With that, they dispersed and made their way to the parking lot. It was dark outside even though it wasn’t all that late, but it was nothing unexpected considering December was on its way. Annabeth buried her hands in the front pocket of her sweatshirt, but she still couldn’t help shivering as the wind howled past them.

Percy smoothed his wind-tousled hair with a scowl before he gave her a sidelong glance. “So I’m guessing your parents didn’t change their mind about the after-party then?”

Annabeth nodded. “They are still insisting that I spend some quality ‘family time’ with them for Thanksgiving. Whatever the fuck that means.”

“Maybe it’s a good sign,” Percy said.

Annabeth snorted and said, “Knowing Helen, I highly doubt that. It’s probably just going to be a miserable meal with passive aggressive comments for dessert.”

Percy stopped and gave her forearm a gentle squeeze, forcing her to meet his eyes, which shone with concern.

“If it gets bad and you ever need to get out of the house, give me a call, okay?”

Annabeth tried for a laugh, but it sounded hollow even to her ears. “Come on, Jackson. You don’t think I can survive one measly dinner?”

“I know you can,” Percy said, firmly but not unkindly. “But there’s a big difference between surviving something and not having to suffer because of it.”

She didn’t really know how to respond to that, so she just remained silent. Percy looked at her and waited for a short while before he sighed and dropped her arm. Annabeth could tell by the downturn of his lips and the furrow of his brow that he still wasn’t entirely convinced, but she didn’t plan on changing her mind. No matter what happened at tonight’s dinner, she was determined not to call Percy. A nameless fear had begun to take root inside her. She couldn’t say what it was, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible would happen if she continued to rely on Percy as heavily as she had. Maybe she was completely off-base or maybe she was simply imagining the whole thing. And yet it grated on her like an itch she couldn't scratch, telling her, compelling her to at least do something.

Percy scuffed his converses against his ankle and nodded again. “Well, I guess I'll see you when you come over on Friday then?”

Annabeth nodded and watched him leave before she made her way back to her car. She didn’t remember much of the drive back home. The spam caller called again at some point, but apart from that the only thing that stuck out was how the pit in the center of her stomach grew the closer she got to her house. When she wasn't eating outside the house, Annabeth usually holed herself in her bedroom until the rest of the family finished dinner before she went downstairs to microwave the leftovers and bring them back upstairs with her. Tonight, unfortunately she had no such avenue of escape.

Once she parked in the driveway, Annabeth continued to sit there in the dark, her hands wrapped around the steering wheel so tightly the cheap stitching on the faux leather dug into her palms. She couldn’t help thinking at that moment that silence wore many different faces. When she was with Percy, silence was companionable and radiated a warmth that felt like trust. When she went for a run, silence was open and peaceful, almost like a physical space where she could leave reality behind for a short while. When she watched Percy give his mother a hug before he left the house, silence was wistful and forlorn, wrapping around her heart like tendrils of smoke. But now, as she sat in the car outside her own house, silence was unforgiving and violent, like a shark sensing blood in the water, waiting for her to tear herself to shreds.

But eventually, Annabeth screwed her eyes shut and forced herself to take a deep breath before she finally made her way inside. She slipped past the door and quietly took her shoes off before heading to the dining room. The rest of her family was already seated and had started eating.

“Ah, Annabeth, we weren’t sure if you would make it, so we got started a little early,” Helen said, voice dripping with faux sincerity.

Annabeth pursed her lips and nodded sharply before she pulled out a chair for herself and sat down. She didn’t put much on her plate — barely enough mashed potatoes to make a mound drizzled with gravy, a small piece of grilled chicken, and some buttered vegetables — and tried to finish her food as quickly as she could so she could retreat to her room.

Of course, it didn’t take long for Helen to take issue with that. “Someone certainly seems to be in a rush today.”

Annabeth looked up from her plate and tried to quell the fire in her eyes, but it was difficult when Helen looked at her with that smile of hers like poisoned honey, while the coldness in her eyes communicated her utter and absolute disdain for Annabeth in a way words never could. Briefly, she looked to her father to see if he might intervene, but like always, she was disappointed. He was staring absentmindedly at the wall behind her, probably thinking about his research.

"I'm just really tired," Annabeth lied.

"And yet you had just enough energy to go to your friend's play," Helen said.

"It's almost like human beings have less energy over the course of a day."

She had tried very hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, but it didn't seem to matter judging by the tick of Helen's jaw. Annabeth couldn't help deriving a twisted sense of pleasure at the momentary collapse in Helen's composure.

Helen sighed with mock affectation. "Children your age are so disrespectful these days."

Annabeth shrugged nonchalantly. "Must be because we’re on our phones all the time."

A gleam passed in Helen's eyes. "Or maybe it's because you associate with the wrong kinds of people."

Annabeth furrowed her brow and deliberately set her fork aside. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Helen raised her wineglass and took a sip before she spoke, and when she did her tone was feather-light. "Oh, it's nothing. As your mother, I'm just concerned when a girl your age spends all her time unsupervised, doing lord knows what, with someone like that Jackson boy."

Annabeth balled her hands into fists. “‘Someone like him’? You don’t even know him.”

Helen looked at her imperiously over the rim of her wine glass. “I don’t need to know him to know that he’s of the wrong sort.”

It took Annabeth a second to decipher what Helen had meant, but once she did the pit in her stomach burned with hellfire.

Annabeth barked a harsh laugh and crossed her arms over her chest. “So he’s the ‘wrong sort’ just because he isn’t white?”

“That wasn’t what I said,” Helen said mildly.

“No, but it's what you meant.”

For the first time that night, her father spoke, voice low yet firm.

“Annabeth,” he warned.

Annabeth bit her tongue and wrestled with the urge to scream. At that moment, her phone vibrated again in her pocket, so Annabeth decided to run with it. Anything to give her an excuse to leave.

Her chair emitted an unholy screech as she stood up. “I have to take an important call.”

Annabeth didn’t wait for Helen’s permission and left the dining room quickly, only just noticing the irritation in her eyes. She went upstairs to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her before pulling her phone out of her pocket.

When she looked at the caller ID and noticed it was that same spam number again, Annabeth clenched her jaw and made to reject the call before an idea occurred to her. If she couldn’t show any emotion around her family, well then this stubborn asshole who clearly couldn’t tell she wasn’t going to answer the phone would give her a good opportunity to vent.

“Hello?” Annabeth snapped, answering the phone.

The voice on the other end of the line sounded male. “Oh, um, hello. Am I speaking with Ms. Annabeth Chase?”

“Yes,” Annabeth spat. “And who are you?”

There was a pause — the speaker was clearly taken aback by Annabeth’s open hostility, but it didn’t take long for them to recover.

“I apologize if this is a bad time, but my name is Rick Waters. I’m the coach of the women’s cross country team here at the University of California, Berkeley. I just wanted to reach out to you regarding the offer of admission we sent you a month or so ago.”

A panicked flurry of thoughts blew through Annabeth's mind. “Oh, sorry, I thought you were a telemarketer. Did you say that you sent me an offer of admission a month ago?”

“Yes, we sent a letter in early October to be precise.”

“I never got anything in the mail,” Annabeth said, frowning.

“Oh, well I suppose that certainly explains things. Perhaps there was a mistake made somewhere along the way, but no harm done. I could inform you of our offer over the phone now, if you'd like."

Annabeth pressed a hand to her forehead and shut her eyes. "Um, yes, please do."

"Well, we've been scouting all over the country for new runners for the incoming freshman class, and we were very interested in you. You are clearly a very talented distance runner, and I think you would be a wonderful asset and a great fit with our team here at Cal. All our facilities are state-of-the-art, and we have some former Olympians on our coaching staff in addition to a team of dietitians, physical therapists, and psychologists. I’ll pause here if you have any questions.”

“No, not at the moment, sorry. I’m just a little overwhelmed,” Annabeth said, mind reeling.

“I understand,” he said. “The reason I have been trying so hard to reach you, though, is because we need to know your decision before the 30th, which is in four days.”

Only four days? How the fuck was she supposed to write all those supplementary essays in only four days? It had taken her months to just finish the essays for the Common App.

“What is the process if I decide to commit to Berkeley?” Annabeth asked. “Like, am I required to send an application and include essays?”

“No, we wouldn’t need anything supplementary. We do, however, require a transcript, but we’ve already been in contact with your high school regarding that, and it was more than satisfactory. In fact, we were highly impressed with your academic performance.”

“Oh, um, thank you,” Annabeth said, feeling relieved.

“Of course,” the coach said. “One final thing I wanted to mention is that we would be willing to offer you a fairly sizable athletic scholarship should you decide to attend in the fall. It would cover a majority of your tuition and room and board fees.”

Annabeth leaned against her door and sank down to the floor, smiling so widely it hurt. The one fear she had had was how she would afford going to Berkeley, so she was beyond relieved that they were willing to give her a scholarship. For once in her life, it seemed that all her hard work had actually amounted to something. For once, her accomplishments actually mattered.

“Thank you so much,” Annabeth said quietly.

“Take some time to think about it, but please do get back to us by the 30th so that we can secure your admission. To be perfectly honest, the deadline for athletic recruitment ended in October, but I’ve been adamant with the Admissions Office that you were special and that the deadline be extended on your behalf.”

Annabeth's throat constricted and her heart squeezed in her chest. “I really don't know what to say. Just thank you so much. I really do appreciate it. I’ll be sure to get back to you by the 30th.”

“Wonderful,” he said. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

With that, the phone call ended, and Annabeth knocked the back of her head against the door and stared up at the ceiling, not sure whether to cry or laugh. As the coach had said, recruitment was usually finished by October, so the fact that she hadn’t received any offers from schools had been depressing. She had assured herself that her application was strong enough on its own to brave the conventional admissions process, but this was an immense weight off her shoulders. Of course, that meant that all those hours she’d spent on writing her stupid Common App essay had been pretty much useless, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

The only thing that soured her mood was the knowledge that she still needed to go back downstairs to deal with her step-mother now that the call was over. Annabeth sat there and looked up at her popcorn ceiling, trying to muster the strength to get up, but it still took her the better part of ten minutes before she finally rose to her feet and closed the door behind her.

:::

Friday at the Jackson household was often a rambunctious affair, but it was quieter than normal when Annabeth came to visit the day after Thanksgiving. But that was largely due to the fact that Paul happened to be away at a teacher’s conference, Estelle at a playdate at a friend’s house, and Sally was upstairs, working on her writing, which left Annabeth alone with Percy downstairs.

He had been the one to suggest that they bake something together, much to her relief. She had wanted to do something where she could turn her brain off, and there was just something about baking in particular that tended to calm her down. As Annabeth sat on the countertop, swinging her legs, and watched Percy riffle through the pantry in search of ingredients, it occurred to her that that was probably why he’d suggested the activity to begin with. The domesticity of Percy humming a tuneless melody under his breath while moving about the kitchen in his pajamas made warmth blossom in her chest.

"Are you gonna help out or are you just continue checking me out, Chase?" Percy asked, looking inside a cupboard for vanilla extract.

Annabeth felt heat rush to her face as she hopped off the counter. She tried to keep her tone light and asked, "What am I not allowed to check out my fake-boyfriend?"

Percy looked at her over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Then surely you wouldn't mind if I were to check out my fake-girlfriend then."

Annabeth's heart fluttered in her chest. "It almost sounds like you're asking for permission."

It was hard to tell if the look in Percy’s eyes was teasing or challenging. "And if I am?"

Her throat had suddenly become completely dry. She wasn't sure if the move here was to say yes and double down or if she should play it off and change the topic.

She settled for the former and said, "And what would you do if I said yes?"

Percy's eyes darkened and his eyes darted to her lips for an instant before he cleared his throat conspicuously and turned away. “Good job. That should work when you get a real boyfriend.”

With that, the tension in the room dissipated into thin air, leaving Annabeth with a vague sense of dissatisfaction, although she couldn’t explain where it came from. Annabeth tried her best to put the interaction behind her and started helping Percy find the remaining ingredients, but she found her eyes wandering towards him without her permission. It was definitely because of the previous exchange, Annabeth reasoned, that she suddenly began paying attention to the way his back muscles strained against the fabric of his thin t-shirt when he reached up to get some nutmeg or the hard line of his jaw when she caught a glimpse of his profile as he turned away.

Her face began to heat up again, but this time it was because she was actually guilty of the crime she'd been accused of. She shook her head in an effort to dispel those thoughts, but she couldn't erase the images taking center stage in her mind's eye.

This was really fucking weird. She'd seen Percy practically every day for the last ten years, and his body had never distracted her like this, so it felt creepy and wrong. Yet, her eyes continued to wander towards him whenever she wasn’t vigilant, much to her embarrassment, as they started making the cookies.

They were nearly ready to put the chocolate chip cookie batter into the oven when Percy stopped and suddenly groaned.

"What?" she asked.

"I forgot the blue food coloring," he grumbled. "Mom and I ran out last time we made cookies."

Annabeth knew better than to ask him if it was really that important for the cookies to be blue, so she nodded and said, "Should we go to the grocery store?"

"Yeah, just let me get changed," Percy said, leaving the kitchen.

Sally made her way down the stairs and smiled as Percy went past her. She stepped into the kitchen and surveyed it for a moment before looking to her with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Well, at least you both don't make nearly as big a mess as you used to."

"Sorry," Annabeth said, her face heating up.

"Relax, dear," Sally said, laughing. "I'm just pulling your leg."

Annabeth managed a smile and said, "How was your book tour?"

Sally leaned against the counter-top and sighed. "Exhausting, but overall, pretty good. Each time I have to do one of them, they just keep adding more and more cities. I know that it's a sign my books are reaching a wider audience, but it still wears out an old woman like me."

"You're not old at all, Sally," Annabeth said genuinely.

A warm smile crossed Sally's face. "You're sweet, dear. How have things been with you?"

Percy came downstairs, now that he'd changed, and jangled his car keys. "Ready to go?"

Annabeth looked to Sally and felt a surge of gratitude when Sally told Percy, "You go on ahead. Annabeth and I are going to have some girl time."

Percy looked between the two of them for a moment before he shrugged and left the kitchen. Annabeth waited until she heard the sound of the garage door closing before she spoke again.

"How did you know?" Annabeth asked.

"Hmm, know what?" Sally asked.

"Know that I wanted to talk to you.”

"I've known you since you were seven, dear," Sally said, giving her a significant look.

Annabeth couldn't help the fact that that brought a smile to her face. "Percy told me that he got recruited by USC."

"Mhmm."

“I’m happy for him and everything, but- I don’t know. It’s just that college actually feels real now and not like something imaginary in the far off future,” Annabeth said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"It’s a big change," Sally admitted. "But I'm sure you both can handle it when the time comes."

"I know,” Annabeth said. “I’m just worried about being apart from Percy and stuff.”

"Well, if you’re that worried, what if you found a college close by LA?" Sally asked.

Annabeth shook her head. "A recruiter from Berkeley reached out to me Wednesday night about joining the cross country team there. He said the university would even be willing to give me a pretty big scholarship, so I'm thinking of accepting."

"Annabeth, that's fantastic," Sally beamed. "Your parents must be so proud of you."

"They just asked how I was going to pay for it," Annabeth said, smiling thinly.

Sally's eyes softened and she pulled her into a warm hug. Annabeth didn't expect a lump to form in her throat, but it didn't surprise her when it happened. She knew from prior experience that Sally Jackson's hugs did tend to have that sort of effect.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm so incredibly proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished," Sally said. "Lord knows how hard you've worked these past few years."

"Thank you," Annabeth said, trying not to let her voice quiver.

Sally pulled away and framed Annabeth's face in her hands, smiling softly. "You've grown into such a wonderful young woman. It’s almost hard to believe that bossy little seven year old would grow up like this."

Annabeth wiped at her nose as a watery laugh escaped her. "Well, one thing hasn't changed: I'm still pretty bossy."

"Well, no one's perfect, after all," Sally said, a twinkle in her eye. "I really don’t think you have anything to worry about, dear. Berkeley and LA are in the same state."

"It's a five hour and forty-two minute drive," Annabeth said. "I, um, checked on Google Maps."

"That’s not that bad," Sally said. “You and Percy can deal with that.”

Annabeth shifted on her heels. "No, it's not that. I know we'll be okay, but I'm just worried it'll change things."

"Well, I know that the way you two feel about each other won't change and that's the most important thing," Sally said firmly.

"Of course, things will be different, but that doesn't mean it has to get worse. This is just another stage you have to pass through in your life, just like Percy does. But despite all that change, you will still be Annabeth and Percy will still be Percy, and that is enough for me to believe you both will be fine."

Annabeth considered her words before nodding. "I still haven't told him."

"He'll be happy to hear it."

"I know he will," Annabeth said. "I just want to be less of a wreck when I tell him. I don't want him to worry."

Sally smiled and said, "That boy will worry about you regardless of what you do."

"He shouldn't have to though," Annabeth said desperately. I’m not worth it.

"No, perhaps he shouldn't," Sally admitted. "But he chooses to anyways, and who are we to say he's wrong for it."

There was a pause before Annabeth quietly said, "Sometimes, it feels like he loves so hard, so honestly, so naturally that it's impossible for me to catch up."

"That's just the way he is," Sally said, a sad smile on her face. "His name means 'To Destroy', but there's no one more protective, more loving than my boy. Been that way all his life, even when he shouldn't have had to. Because of that, I’m afraid that I've hurt him without knowing, hurt him in ways that can't be fixed."

"You mean with Gabe?" Annabeth asked.

Sally's eyes turned hard. "He started trying to protect me from him ever since he was six and I don’t think he has ever stopped. Even now, I can see he still doesn't completely feel comfortable around Paul, but he bears it for my sake. He has always been willing to cause himself pain if it means alleviating someone else’s suffering. Sometimes, I worry that he feels the need to be responsible for how other people feel.”

Sally’s words immediately made Annabeth think about her conversation with Kara and how she had said something similar:

I just remember being so fucking stunned. Like, your girlfriend is telling you she’s breaking up with you after cheating on you, and your response is to go be someone else’s fucking therapist?

Annabeth balled her hands into fists and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She wasn’t sure what to say. She had never been good with words or emotions, but she wasn’t even sure if this was something that could be fixed with just words. If she were like Percy, maybe she could think of the right combination of words to say in order to make this better, but she wasn’t.

She hated this. All her life, Annabeth had been praised for being intelligent. Most of her identity was built around that fact. Whenever her life went to shit, the one thing she could count on was the fact that she was smart: it was the one thing that made her feel like she was worth anything. But lately, Annabeth couldn’t help questioning if she’d built her entire sense of self around a lie. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been able to use her intelligence to solve a problem, or at least not any problem that mattered. It seemed pointless to have all this purported intelligence when life only sent her problems that couldn’t be solved just by thinking really hard.

Sally must have sensed Annabeth’s frustration because she put her hand on Annabeth’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Although she felt a bit better, it did nothing to dispel the underlying sensation of weight, like someone was sitting on her chest.

The garage door opened and Percy popped into the kitchen with an exuberant smile, holding a bottle of blue food coloring in his hand.

“Managed to get the last one!” he beamed before his smile fell and he looked between the two of them. “What happened here?”

Sally gave Annabeth’s shoulder another squeeze before making her way to the staircase. “Oh, nothing. Just girl stuff.”

Percy nodded but clearly looked unconvinced. Once Sally was gone, he turned to her with a question in his eyes.

“Girl stuff?” he asked.

Annabeth found herself settling for a half-truth yet again. It seemed like that was all she did these days when she spoke to Percy.

“A recruiter contacted me from Berkeley,” she said, looking at her feet. “They’re giving me a big scholarship if I go there to join the cross country team.”

Percy blinked before breaking into a smile and rushing to her with open arms. “Holy shit, Annabeth, that’s insane! I’m so happy for you!”

Annabeth returned his hug and smiled into his shoulder — Sally had been so spot on about his reaction that, despite her heavy mood, it was kind of hilarious.

“Thanks.”

Percy looked at her with a searching gaze. “Then why do we seem so sad?”

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “I’m not sad. I was just getting emotional with your mom about how much I’ve matured.”

“Hmm, you don’t look all that mature to me,” Percy said, appraising her.

“Asshole,” Annabeth grumbled. “I don’t seem to recall that being your opinion back when you were trying to get permission to check me out.”

Percy’s face flushed at the accusation, and his voice jumped an octave as he stammered, “T-That was to help you practice.”

“Yeah, sure,” Annabeth drawled. “Very convincing.”

“Now who’s being an asshole?”

“Couldn’t be me,” Annabeth said lightly.

“Of course not,” Percy said, rolling his eyes. “Now should we start making these cookies or not? I’m starving.”

Annabeth followed him to the batter and watched as he drenched it in blue food coloring, tongue poking out the corner of his mouth, and found herself desperately wishing they had more time. There was a delicate, almost exquisite pain that came with the awareness that this couldn’t last, but watching Percy roll misshapen balls of blue cookie dough made it easier for her to ignore it. At least for a while.

#just practice #percabeth fluff #percabeth fic #percabeth fake dating au #fake dating au #im so bad at endings fml #please reblog if you can it would mean a lot #ill love u forever and always

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yukippe · 4 years

Text

with one glimpse

this is inspired by and for @silima bc i saw her reychel art yesterday and went oh!! ao3

reyna meets rachel at the worst possible time.

she’s losing her influence over the people that she’s done her best to hold onto at the seams for years. her sister has dealt with coups before, but there is something to be said about being a twenty two year old queen who has never had her authority truly questioned before versus a sixteen year old praetor on her second year of her term that has constantly been filled with thinly veiled insults and redirections to the opinions of her male counterparts.

she is the only one willing to see rachel elizabeth dare, oracle of camp halfblood and her companion grover underwood, the apparent new lord of the wild. she does it because she knows that something is wrong. the greeks may have attacked camp jupiter, but it never felt right.

reyna meets rachel at the worst possible time. rachel leaves an impression, of course, she is a legitimate oracle and all reyna has known when it comes to fate and prophecy is whatever octavian does with the teddy bears he cuts up. and, well. rachel is also someone that likely leaves an impression everywhere she goes. her bright red hair and paint stained jeans and nails with chipped, multicoloured polish make a clear picture in reyna’s head. if things had been different rachel wouldn’t have been able to leave reyna’s thoughts.

but, it is a war and reyna is trying desperately to hold everything together when all the legion seems to want to do is follow the words of a power hungry augur who has never won a sparring match. and then the message rachel dare and grover underwood came to deliver sends reyna all the way to greece.

after everything, reyna knows no lost love for eros or venus, both deities having wreaked pain for her and nico. nico, however, reyna thinks is better than a godsend.

seven months after the end of the giant war nico visits camp jupiter with the promise of setting her up on a blind date.

at first reyna is skeptical. nico is a fourteen year old boy who spends every other weekend in the underworld and the rest of the time avoiding reyna’s questions about whether or not he’s going to high school. but, nico does have a very nice boyfriend and he claims that will has “an infinite supply” of lesbian friends her age. so reyna agrees to one blind date, on the condition that nico tours the campus of the high schools in new rome with her. percy likes to cut it on their iris messages to say things about how annabeth is going to have a high school set up in no time, but reyna always reminds him that not even new rome was built in a day.

the two of them are getting hot chocolate in reyna’s favourite cafe by the park with cherry trees that reyna likes to watch and keep track of the blooming patterns. nico is texting will under the table while reyna pretends to be interested in people watching the passerby on the other side of the window they’re seated by. a little girl spies reyna’s purple shirt and the golden laurel in her hair and waves, reyna winks at her.

“ha, you spying new recruits?” nico asks, evidently finished making fun of whatever will sent him.

reyna raises an eyebrow at him, “you were at the senate meeting where frank and i raised the age of voluntary service to sixteen. if she is interested in the legion, i will likely be long retired by the time she’s old enough to join.”

nico makes a face at her. reyna sticks her tongue out in return. most of the time she behaves better, but nico’s company makes her act like a child. could be the shared trauma, or the fact that they were both gay. nico’s phone buzzes again and saves reyna from embarrassing herself further in public. she looks over at the display of pastries at the front of the cafe and considers them carefully. hm. she walks over and orders a chocolate croissant for herself and an oatmeal raisin cookie for nico. his tastebuds are strange, but reyna’s learned better than to try and help him in months of their friendship.

when she returns to their table she plucks his phone out of his hands and pockets it. she ignores his protests and grabby hands, “so. this blind date.”

nico retracts his hands and grins, she doesn’t trust it at all. “she’s going to be holding a blue hairbrush,” he pauses to snicker for no apparent reason. “and she’ll meet you at the library. she told me she’s going to pick a really weird statue to stand next to so you’ll have to make conversation while it’s staring down at you.”

reyna blinks at that. all the statues near the library are odd, so that won’t help very much. but the blue hairbrush should be enough to identify her.

“what’s she like?” reyna asks. nico shrugs at her, so she pulls out the cookie she hid under a napkin and waves it at him.

“she likes art and loud noise,” nico tells her as he reaches over the table and grabs the cookie from her hand. reyna lets him because she doesn’t feel like fighting him in the cafe for it. besides, by nico’s cagey standards that’s a decent amount of information.

she asks him if any of the friends he’s made at camp half blood would be interested in joining them on the tour they’re taking of high schools in new rome in a few weeks and he shoves his cookie into his mouth to avoid answering her. reyna lets him avoid her questions as she tries her croissant.

weeks later after a successful tour of colosseum high school with ten of camp half bloods young and at risk to monster attack teenagers, nico hands her a library book he forgot to return that she’s supposed to use for the girl he’s setting her up with to recognize her with.

“you’re going to get your library card revoked,” she tells him. “do you know how long it took me to get you one? you don’t even live in new rome yet.”

“i don’t like the sound of ‘yet’,” nico says. reyna bares her teeth as she smiles at him, but then she leaves him with his friends and a map to wander new rome for the rest of the day and makes her way over to the library.

reyna has only been on a date that mattered once before. before the unsettling conversation she had with venus, she had tried to feel things for the boys who she knew she should like. no demigod will heal your heart. she is not thankful for venus, the goddess had been cruel and cruelty is not what reyna had needed when the goddess of love had pulled her away after reyna had risked everything on hope and her faith in her ability to survive.

after the war, though, venus’s words had haunted her. reyna has never had time to think about attraction in depth, but piper’s reassurances that she might love a mortal or a god did not seem to be what venus had been alluding to. reyna has no interest in letting someone else heal her heart, and even less interest in any immortal figure. and. reyna had pieced it together with the help of her inability to tear her gaze away from piper’s beautiful brown eyes that fundamentally she couldn’t love a boy.

she’d gone to lunch with a centurion who had a pretty singing voice and liked card games. it had been fun, but the other girl hadn’t really been able to separate reyna as herself and reyna as praetor.

nico’s friend is from camp half blood and reyna has found since the giant war that she is very fond of the looseness of the greeks. she doesn’t like to jinx things, but reyna thinks today will be at least a day of fun.

rachel elizabeth dare, oracle of camp half blood, is sitting at the feet of a particularly ugly statue of emperor constantine holding a blue hairbrush. reyna pauses in her tracks. a memory of the shape of rachel’s mouth as she said reyna’s full name the first time they met, months ago, plays in the back of reyna’s head.

reyna met rachel at the worst possible time. nico’s given her a second chance.

rachel is tormenting the pigeons near her when reyna walks up to her. rachel’s hair is cropped shorter than it was the last time reyna saw her. her nails are less chipped, and it looks like they’re painted in a rainbow pattern.

“hello,” reyna says. she feels awkward, but she wants to try her best to be charming. everything about rachel is breathtaking.

rachel looks up from the pigeons she was making faces at and sways. reyna reaches out to steady her. “are you okay?” reyna asks, concerned.

“uh,” rachel laughs lightly and reyna wants to hear that sound many, many more times. “yeah! i’m find. nico didn’t seem to think to tell me it was you.”

reyna doesn’t quite understand why that made rachel swoon but she smiles at her, because she really wants to smile at rachel and it seems like it fits. “i tried to get nico to tell me who you were going to be, but he can be a bother when he wants to. i have to return a library book of his, but i’ll be right back.”

rachel grins back at her, “sounds good. hey, do you know who this unfortunate statue if of?” rachel points up at constantine and mimes a sick face.

reyna can’t help but laugh, “yeah. emperor constantine.”

“wonder what he did to piss off the artist,” rachel muses. reyna laughs again and does her best to rush to return nico’s book without looking like she’s running to get back to rachel.

when she returns she and rachel decide to walk though the park nearby and then go for something sweet after. rachel tells her she’s vegan and reyna plots a path in her head that will lead them to a gelato place.

“so,” reyna says. “nico said you like art and loud noise?”

rachel blushes, it’s a little splotchy and it hides some of her freckles. reyna wants a picture of it. “uh yeah, i paint a lot and i think i’m going to apply to scad and some other more realistic schools.” she gestures to her denim shorts and reyna looks closer to see paint stains similar to the ones rachel wore when they first met.

“what do you like to paint?” reyna asks her. she wants to know everything rachel wants to tell her.

rachel smiles at her and reyna can tell she asked the right question. as they walk rachel tells her about how they realized she was meant to be the oracle of delphi because she started to paint the future. now, rachel paints things to send a message or make people smile. reyna gets rachel to show her an oil painting she did of annabeth and thalia that percy commissioned her for for annabeth’s birthday. “he’s paying me in baked goods,” rachel tells her. “his mom’s blue chocolate chip cookies are better than ambrosia.”

reyna pauses her at that, “can you eat ambrosia?”

rachel winks at her, “no!”

rachel proceeds to ask her about her dogs, and reyna loves to talk about aurum and argentum. she’s telling rachel about how they like to steal her food even though they’re made of metal when rachel plucks a blue flower and tucks it into her braid. reyna trails off as she watches reyna, and her breath catches when rachel’s hand brushes against her jaw.

rachel’s hand drops to her side and she meets reyna’s eyes. “reyna,” rachel asks, her eyes sparkling and her mouth quirking at the side. “this is a first date and all, but can i kiss you?”

reyna remembers how to breathe, somehow and nods. “yes,” reyna says, smiling. “i’d like that. i like you.”

rachel blushes again, and she places one hand gently on reyna’s cheek, and the other on rachel’s shoulder. reyna puts her hands on rachel’s waist and hooks a finger into one of rachel’s belt loops, she pulls rachel closer and she thinks rachel must be able to hear her heartbeat.

gently, rachel presses her lips against hers and reyna sinks into the touch. reyna can’t think of anything else other than rachel.

they break apart and reyna can feel a giant grin fill her face, it grows even more when she realizes rachel’s smile is just as big. rachel’s hands drop down and reyna lets go of rachel’s waist so she can hold rachel’s hand.

“what’s your favourite flavour sorbet?” reyna asks her.

rachel blinks, “hm?”

“we’re headed to a gelato place,” reyna says. she pulls rachel along the path. rachel laughs as they go and they talk about rachel’s strange taste in music and reyna’s guilty pleasure of badly made action movies. rachel’s hand is soft and reyna thinks the feeling of it against her skin is maybe the best thing ever.

#pjo #hoo #reychel #rachel elizabeth dare #reyna avila ramirez arellano #rey's writering

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demigodsanswer · 5 years

Text

A Marriage of True Minds

So I can’t get this AU out of my head, and so this happened.

Summery: Percy and Annabeth are in line for their own respective thrones, and have only met in person once when they were twelve. But for nine years they maintain weekly correspondence, becoming, in many ways, each others closest friends. When they are both 21, Annabeth, particularly, is feeling the pressure to get married. After a bad encounter with a suitor at 16, she puts it off marriage prospects until she is 21, when she has the perfect idea: ask her best friend to marry her.

(TW for attempted rape)

Poseidon’s kingdom is on the south east side of the continent, where as Athena’s is north west. The kingdoms have a past history of bloody war, but they have been a relative peace for about a century. Still they aren’t close, and the leaders of the respective nations rarely actually communicate or see each other.

The last time either leader traveled to the other kingdom was when Athena and Annabeth traveled to Poseidon’s kingdom for his marriage. Percy and Annabeth met there as 12 year olds, and spent the month playing and training together. Because Athena’s kingdom is a matriarchy, they have no problem with Annabeth learning to sword fight, and Percy is happy to have someone his own age around to practice with.

King Poseidon had previously been married, and had two sons with another woman, the Queen, but she passed away when Percy was 11. Percy was raised in his father’s palace, but as a bastard. When his father married he mother, he was legitimized, making him third in line for the throne.

At the end of the month, when Annabeth leaves, Percy promises to write her. This starts off a nine year friendship built exclusively over letters.

Annabeth is first in line for her throne, and therefor gets a lot of marriage proposals once she turns fifteen.

Annabeth complains about these men pretty consistently to Percy, hoping that he proposes marriage. She hasn’t seen him in years, but he was cute when they were twelve. And physical appearance doesn’t actually mean much to her. She knew they got along intellectually and that was all she wanted - a marriage of minds. If he was good looking, that was great, but she didn’t need that.

But that doesn’t happen. And Athena never suggests him either. Annabeth pretty much figures out that it’s because of his former bastard status. Athena hasn’t even considered his proposal if one has been made, but, likely, Percy sees himself as unworthy.

Athena turns down most suitors for Annabeth, but there is one who makes his way through. Luke, a 23-year old duke-to-be. Annabeth is 16 when they meet, and the two click pretty quickly. He’s funny, he’s sweet, and he kisses her hand every time they greet each other.

He’s starting to look like a viable match. Annabeth even tells Percy about him. But before Percy can respond, Luke proves to not be as great as Annabeth and her mother once though.

After a few weeks with the family, Luke asks if he can kiss Annabeth, and she lets him have a chaste kiss. They share a few more kisses over the next week or so. Then, one day he deepens the kiss, and she lets him. He mutters sweet complements to her about her beauty and intelligence, and how he wants to marry her and is going to propose marriage soon. Annabeth is thrilled.

The next day, Annabeth goes to his room to give him a book - Athenian history. If he is going to marry her, he should know their history. Luke invites her in, takes the book, and starts to kiss her again. Annabeth is okay with it, until she remembers where she is and what people might think if they realize that she is gone and in her suitor’s room. And then Luke starts to move to the bed, pushing her down onto her back, holding her under him.

She starts to struggle and kick, and say that she wants to go, but he doesn’t let her up. He starts pulling at the ties on her dress, saying that they will be engaged soon and that no one has to know. But Annabeth knows what he wants and refuses to give it to him. She manages to get her hand under her skirt to where she keeps her knife (because of course she does), and cuts him across his face.

Luke flies off of her, holding his face to stop the bleeding. Before he can retaliate, Annabeth is running out the door, dress still torn and, now, bloodstained.

She runs to her mother and explains what has happened, and Luke and his father are out within the hour. Annabeth refuses any offers of courtship for a year, and does not even meet in person with any potential suitors until she is 18.

After Luke leaves, she writes to Percy “Courtship with Luke is over.” Percy sends her comforting words, but he doesn’t ask what happened. Annabeth is grateful for that.

Between 18 and 21, Annabeth meets some potential suitors but has a hard time trusting any of them. The only one she comes close to is Frank, but on the fifth day of their courtship, he confesses to being in love with a woman back home, and asks Annabeth to call of the courtship, saying that his father will never forgive him if he is the one to call it off.

At 21 years old, Athena is starting to really look for Annabeth to find someone to marry. Annabeth does not need to be married to rule, but, as her mom keeps pointing out, strategic alliances through marriage are the strongest.

Annabeth asks if Percy has had as much bad luck with suitors as she has. He confesses that he hasn’t had nearly as many suitors as she has. “Legitimized or not, people still see me, at best, as third in line, and, at worst, an illegitimate bastard. No one wants to marry me. I’m likely to be forced into some high ranking military position just to save my family the trouble.”

Annabeth writes back. “Nonsense, any woman would be lucky to have you. I would certainly marry you over any of the men I’ve had to meet the last five years.”

Percy writes back. “Are you serious about marrying me? Because life with you sounds much nicer than military life.”

Annabeth thinks hard about his letter when she gets it. She knows she likes Percy, and she could easily grow to love him. It would be politically advantageous to marry someone from that kingdom to secure peace, and, because of his former bastard status, he is just scandalous enough for Annabeth’s more adventurous side. Plus, they already have a great respect for each other. It would be a marriage of true minds, and that would be perfectly ideal for Annabeth.

She responds to Percy that, yes, if he offered courtship, she would accept. She would do anything in her power to get her mother to accept the courtship.

The next month, an official offer of courtship is made, and, with some convincing from Annabeth, Athena agrees to accept the proposal.

Four months later, a royal caravan from the south enter the kingdom.

Percy cleans himself up from the road - he’s pretty much ridden horseback the whole way, only using the carriage when it was raining (and even then, only most of the time) - and he gets ready to see his best friend for the first time in nine years.

He walks into the throne room, and sets eyes on Annabeth, and nearly passes out. When they were twelve she was boyish, aggressive, and wearing trousers most of the time. Now her hair was combed, she was in a silver dress, wearing a tiara, and wow she beautiful.

After a moment, Percy remembers his manners, and they get on with the meeting. He goes to Annabeth and greets her by bowing and kissing her hand. She just stares at him with an intensity that he had almost forgotten. He can’t read her emotions at all. Maybe she was not as satisfied with him as he was with her.

By the end of the meeting, Athena and Annabeth have agreed to courtship, lasting no more than a year, during which time Percy and whatever members of his royal company he would like, would stay with them in the palace.

When they are dismissed, he asks Annabeth for a walk, and asks his companion, Grover (son of a lesser lord) to chaperone them.

As soon as the three of them are alone, Annabeth pulls Percy into a hug. He hugs her back tightly, lifting her off the ground a bit just to show off that he’s no longer shorter than her.

Annabeth would be a fool to deny how handsome Percy had become. He still looked a little wild and mischievous, but he was also more composed and mature. And he was so very, very handsome. If they never found love together, she would at least not have any trouble going through with the act of conceiving children.

They walk around the garden for hours (Percy feels bad, they barely acknowledge Grover) but they have a lot to catch up on.

When the sun starts to set, they make their way inside for dinner.

At the end of the night, Percy kisses her hand goodnight, but, had he had any less sense of decorum, would have probably just asked to kiss her.

Before Annabeth lets him walk away she asked, “When do you think you should propose marriage?”

Percy pauses. They had written back and forth and agreed that, barring any real issues, their courtship would end in proposal and marriage. But he had spent all day so enamored with just being around her that he hadn’t even thought of it.

Finally he answers, “How long would be appropriate? I don’t see much need to drag courtship out if we already know that we get along.”

“I agree. I think three months would be sufficient. My mother knows that we have been writing, so she won’t question it.”

Percy smiles and nods. “Three months then.”

“Three months.” Annabeth agrees.

Percy smiles and takes her hand. “At this rate, by the end of the year, you will be my wife.”

Him saying that fills Annabeth with an anxiety and excitement. She squeezes his hands. “And you will be my husband.”

He kisses her hand again, still clutched tightly in his own. “Good night, Annabeth.”

She lets go. “Good night, Percy.”

They weren’t alone, as they thought, when they had that conversation. A servant overheard, and quickly rumors spread that the reason for their courtship was because of love. “Isn’t it romantic,” the servants whisper, “a marriage for love. Long time friends turned lovers.” It does not take long for these rumors to get back to Athena.

She confronts Annabeth about it, and accuses her of rejecting other suitors just to marry someone far below her own station.

“He is not bellow my station,” Annabeth argues, “he is in line for his own throne. He is legitimate.”

“You could have told me if you were in love with him and this marriage business could have been over with a long time ago.”

Annabeth realizes then that Athena does not think this is the smartest match she could make, but is allowing the courtship to go on because Annabeth seems excited by it. It’s not like her mother to listen to servant gossip. The fact that she believes it means that Athena has thought her daughter was in love with Percy for a long time. And that Annabeth’s “love” for Percy is the only reason this courtship was allowed to happen at all. If Athena finds out that they don’t love each other, Athena may call and end to the courtship.

“He has already promised to marry me,” Annabeth tells her, “that rumor is true. We were going to wait an appropriate amount of time but ...”

“No need for all of that. Tell him he may ask me for your hand whenever he feels ready.” Annabeth nods and turns to leave but Athena stops her. “And Annabeth, from now on, your brother will be chaperoning your interactions with him,” Athena walks closer and places a hand on her shoulder, “for your safety,” and Athena meant that. Annabeth hugs her mother quickly, before leaving. She needed to find Percy before her brother found the both of them.

Annabeth finds Percy in the garden and fills him in as quickly as possible. He must propose much sooner and they must pretend to be in love. Percy agrees and doesn’t have an issue with it.

They’ve only been alone for a few minutes when Annabeth hears her brother approaching. Quickly, Annabeth grabs Percy and kisses him. Percy’s breath catches and he freezes for a moment, before catching on to what she is doing. He quickly places a hand on her waist, and another hand on her face, making the kiss look like the tender kiss of two lovers newly engaged.

“Annabe - Oh, there you are,” Malcolm freezes, and the two pull away. “You know mother sent me to chaperone, but I really don’t want to be in the way of you two too much, so if you ever need a” he gestured vaguely, “moment, please tell me and I will turn away.” Annabeth smiled at him. “So it’s true then?” He asked. “You two are really getting married?”

“Yes,” Percy said, “once I ask your mother officially.”

“But she’s given her blessing,” Annabeth says, putting her hand on Percy’s.

“Great,” Malcolm says, rocking back on his feet. “Anyway, I’ll just be, sitting over here, reading my book, don’t pay any attention to me.”

Once Malcolm is sitting, Annabeth mouths “sorry” to Percy, who just shrugs. “It was nice” he mouths back. Annabeth just shoves him.

They continue to talk in hushed voices about the engagement and marriage, and about this ‘pretending to be in love’ stunt they have gotten themselves into. They have to talk in relatively coded language though, just in case Malcolm can hear them. Or in case of more nosey servants spreading their business through the castle.

When they depart at sunset, Percy leans in, seeking silent permission to kiss her again. Annabeth closes the space between them, kissing him gently, and much more appropriately than before. Percy finds himself desperately wishing for a third and fourth kiss.

When Percy gets back to his wing of the castle, Grover is waiting for him. “So do you really love her?” He asks.

Percy just shoves him into his room and sits him down and says, “Yes, no, kind of.” Percy explains everything that happened the night before and that day. He pauses when he gets to the kiss. “And then she kissed me, and, of course she is beautiful, and she’s my best friend, I feel like I could tell her anything, but I didn’t expect that when I kissed her for the first time -”

“It would be a show for her brother?”

“Well yes, but mostly, I didn’t expect that I would be able to actually imagine doing it because of love. It was like ... in that moment, I could imagine us living together and having children and ruling together, and being in love I guess.”

“Well, considering you will be proposing by the end of the week, its probably a good thing that you can imagine those futures. I’ll leave you alone now with your fantasies of your future wife.”

When Grover leaves, Percy lets the term “future wife” wash over him and mingle with memories of the kiss. He smiles and suddenly he feels like his whole body is on fire in a way he’s hardly ever felt before.

Annabeth, likewise, is on fire. Luke never even made her feel this way. She was sure she wasn’t falling in love with him - no they had been friends for so long, and he was handsome, so of course that kind of intimate contact would have a physical effect on her. Her logic doesn’t make the feeling go away though.

(That’s all I have energy for right now. But let me know if people would be interested in a part two or real fic version of some of these scenes. For sure don’t have time for a real chapter fic, but some fluff or smut here and there featuring period clothing is my jam)

#Percy Jackson and the Olympians #percy jackson #annabeth chase #percabeth

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imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch · 6 years

Text

I Love You, You Pay My Rent: Chapter Twenty One

First Chapter (Prologue)

Previous Chapter (Chapter Twenty)

Nico had been living –

Nico wasn’t living with Will.

The worst part was in the morning, before he opened his eyes. Reyna’s spare room was tiny ad the sofa bed was uncomfortable, and yet each morning before he opened his eyes when his world was still half blurred with the dreams he had when he and Will had never broken up, for just a minute he thought he was back hom- back at Will’s. In that moment, just before he opened his eyes he could pretend.

The smell of coffee could be Will making him his first cup of the day. Will insisted he only did it because Nico was such a disaster in the mornings he didn't quite trust the task to him, and cited the fact Nico had once tried to put the coffee beans in the toaster as proof. No matter what Will said, it took him very little time to learn how to make Nico's perfect cup of coffee, better than Nico himself could make it. Will could do a lot of things better than Nico could do them. At times it had seemed Will knew Nico better than Nico knew himself.

Eventually he'd have to open his eyes and face the cold winter sun coming in through the cracks in the blinds. Face the day. Face that he'd thrown Will away. Face that his life was now a cold spare room in his friends apartment.

Reyna must have called Jason and Jason must have freaked out and dropped whatever he was doing in LA to fly over because at some point he ended up in Reyna's flat. Nico wasn't trying to ignore him this time but his words were just white noise. Jason's concern barely registered, nor did the hushed conversations Jason and Reyna had about him. Then Jason was gone again. Nico didn't notice him go either.

Percy clearly had no idea how to help either but it didn't stop him trying. He too came to Reyna's talking about everything from his own wedding to mythomagic in an attempt to get Nico to engage. But Percy had no idea how it felt. He'd only ever been with Annabeth, the two had never fought like Will and Nico had fought. Maybe that should have been a sign. Ever since they'd officially started dating there had been problem and drama and fight, one after another in a never-ending line.

Maybe that should have been a cue, the sign from the universe that the two weren't going to work out. That Nico would destroy Will and he'd destroy their relationship. That he should walk away.

He should have listened.

He lost track of time. The days blurred into an endless line, waking up to the brief desperate lie that he was still at home, that everything was okay. He didn't eat breakfast anymore, couldn't face it. That always made Reyna frown but he didn't see what the big deal was - he hadn't eaten breakfast before Will. He usually skipped lunch too, which made Reyna frown more but he wasn't hungry.

He and Reyna would have dinner. She'd usually order take-out because, in between taking classes far too advanced for normal people her age in politics and business and ancient civilisations, she'd forgotten to learn to cook. Nico would pick at the food, Reyna would hold herself back from trying to force him to eat. Then there was work. Work was easy because Nico could zone out legitimately, mixing drinks on autopilot, glad for the dim lighting so people couldn't see how empty his eyes were.

Everything reminded him of Will. Once he'd tried to walk down his old street, heading on autopilot for home before he remembered it wasn't home. He'd gotten close enough to see the lights on in the windows, the curtains open and undrawn before he realised his mistake. He'd frozen, feeling a stab of something unidentifiable and tangled. He stayed clear of the apartment building now, refused to go within five blocks of it. There were too many memories surrounding it: the ice cream parlour Will liked to drag him to, the Chinese Will ordered from because they knew about his hatred for fortune cookies, the spot under the streetlamp where he'd kissed Will for the first time.

Nonetheless, even with avoiding large sections of his part of the city, and refusing to watch TV, or drink coffee, or eat he thought he was coping with his first break up reasonably well. He hadn't gotten drunk yet, begging Will for another chance, if only because he didn't think he deserved another chance. He hadn't texted Will's friends asking how Will was, and maybe that was because he didn't have their numbers and there was a good chance they would kill him, but he hadn't done it and that was an achievement right?

Reyna, and presumably Jason and Percy, apparently disagreed because one day Hazel was in Reyna's kitchen cutting up tomatoes for a salad. The kitchen smelt of fresh baked bread, there was cheese and cold meats - Reyna's idea of a fancy picnic lunch probably brought in especially.

"I thought we'd go to park," Hazel said.

Nico didn't want to go to park, but he didn't want to upset Hazel in the same way he was perfectly happy turning down Percy and Reyna's offers for company, so he agreed.

It was too cold for a picnic really. There had been threats of snow, but it hadn't arrived yet and the sky was still a dull pale blue. Nico ate a carrot and then when Hazel frowned, picked at a sausage roll and a bit of cheese.

"Are you going to talk about it?" Hazel asked.

"I'm okay," Nico said.

"You've been a zombie for three weeks. Reyna said you don't eat, you don't respond to anyone. Percy came round at one point to tell you there'd been another attempt on Dad's life and he said you didn't even seem to hear him."

Nico hadn't heard that. He didn't even remember Percy coming over, just the texts he sometimes read but didn't answer. He also hadn't realised it had been three weeks already. Will would be on break now. He wondered how his essays went.

"Nico please!" Hazel said, drawing his attention back to the present. "You turn up at Reyna's and act like you're not even really here, you don't even tell us what happened. We're just left to assume you -"

"Broke up with Will," Nico finished. "We broke up Hazel."

It was the first time he'd it out loud. It sounded wrong.

Hazel's eyes were soft.

"I'm sorry Nico," she said. "I'm really sorry. I know how much he meant to you."

Nico closed his eyes. He hadn't cried yet, not even as he'd been making his way to Reyna's right after it had happened. He hadn’t felt sad - just empty. Numb. He still felt numb, was still in shock. Which was strange because he'd seen it coming. And it had been him who -

"Nico?"

He'd been ignoring Hazel again.

"Nico I know it probably hurts like hell but you can't keep on like this. Things are getting bad. After they came for Dad, someone attacked Jason on the street."

Hazel paused to give a small smile.

"They actually came off worse. But that's not the point. At the moment Nico if someone came to attack you I don't even think you'd notice."

It was a valid point. Nico also didn't think he'd notice. He barely noticed anything these days unless it was a pair of bright blue eyes that turned out to be the wrong shade, or a flash of golden hair that he then realised didn't catch the sun in the right way.

"I'll stop going out as much," Nico promised. It was an easy thing to promise. The only times he went out at all were when he had to go to work. "And I'll be on the lookout for potential murderers."

Hazel didn't look entirely happy with that solution, but she nodded and accepted it.

"I mean it," Nico said. The expression on Hazel's face was clearing his head slightly. "I'll be careful. Is dad okay?"

It was the right thing to say because some of the weight lifted off her shoulders. She told him about the attempted murder but Nico lost all interest in the plots and intrigue after she told him he was actually alright. Luke and Thalia and Jason and Percy could fight all they wanted. He was done with all of that.

An indeterminate number of days later, Reyna forced Nico to break his promise about not leaving the house when she sent him for proper coffee to keep her going while she tried to fix the kitchen sink which was challenging her refusal to spend money on a plumber.

The nearest cafe turned out to be the one he'd sat in with Lou Ellen and his heart stuttered wondering if she was there, if Will was there but the odds of that were astronomically low. Nico left without seeing either of them and he didn't know if he was disappointed or relieved.

Was Will okay? Had the sunlight come back into his eyes yet?

Without meaning to, Nico began spending more and more time in the coffee shop. At first he'd go and get coffee before work. Then he went for breakfast too, picking up a pastry he usually ended up picking apart and throwing in the bin when he couldn't bring himself to stomach it. So he started picking up breakfast for Reyna instead.

Then when Reyna's apartment became too small, and her endless muted concern became too much he began going to for an hour or so. He'd watch the rain outside, or the sky turn from a dirty grey to a light brown as the sun dipped below the horizon. Before he knew it, he was there every day and the baristas knew his order by heart. Other than Will, no one had ever know his order by heart before.

He didn't know what he was waiting for, though it should have been obvious, until Lou Ellen came in one day, trailed by Cecil and - no it was some other blonde completely unconnected to either of them.

Lou Ellen spotted him first and nudged Cecil. They ignored him at first, joining the queue for drinks. Nico had diverged from the beaten path and tried - for the first time - a green tea as Lou Ellen had suggested once. The dregs sat at the bottom of the cup in soggy patterns. He wondered what they said about his future - to him they just sad and bleak.

Lou Ellen sat first, Cecil beside her. Lou Ellen slid him a fresh tea. None of them said anything.

"You here to kill me?" Nico asked eventually when the silence became too much.

"Thought about it," Lou Ellen said. "What did I say Nico? What was like the one thing we asked of you?"

Nico closed his eyes as his chest constricted.

"We changed our mind when we saw how sad you are," Cecil said, uncharacteristically solemn.

Nico frowned then, letting that distract him from how his eyes were burning.

"Then why are you here?"

"When Miranda told me she'd seen someone matching your description in here like all the time, looking like joy had been banned we figured it must be you. We thought we'd try and cheer you up. You know as far as we can under the circumstances."

Lou Ellen was gentle and somehow that made it harder.

"Why?" Nico demanded. "Why on earth would you do that? Why don't you hate me?"

"You're our friend," Lou Ellen said, managing to make it sound like Nico was an idiot for thinking otherwise.

Nico pushed his tea away, the liquid burning in his throat and stomach, and sniffed the tears away, turning so neither of them would see him cry. Cecil tactfully got out his phone. Lou Ellen passed him a napkin.

"How's Will?" Nico asked thickly when he'd forced the pain into submission.

"Don't know," said Cecil. "He left a couple of weeks ago. Dreadful before that though so we're assuming the same."

"Left?" Nico said, in sudden alarm. "What do you mean left."

Cecil and Lou Ellen exchanged glances.

"Left as in his apartment is now empty," Cecil said. "He's staying with Kayla and his aunt I think."

Nico stood on shaky legs. He ended up in the bathroom, doubled over the sink as he tried to decide whether it was just mild hysteria or whether he really did want to throw up.

"Nico?"

"Should you be in here?" he asked haltingly between panicked breaths.

"Probably not," Lou Ellen admitted.

"Definitely not," Cecil said who was looking more uncomfortable about Lou Ellen being in the men's bathroom than Lou Ellen herself did.

"Nico I'm going to be honest I don't really know what you expected."

Nico didn't know what he'd expected either. They'd been wrong and fighting and miserable and it had been Nico's fault. Nico had thought maybe now he was free, Will would be happier. He vocalised that thought and it actually made Cecil laugh. There was no humour in it though, just pure disbelief.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

No. He wasn't.

Nico forget his promise to Hazel as he left the coffee shop and walked paying very little attention to his surroundings. Someone could have come up to him brandishing a knife and Nico would have been oblivious. He then forgot his promise to himself, and gravitated towards home. There were no lights on in the apartment this time. It was cold and empty.

Police sirens echoed as he walked back to Reyna’s, reverbing around the city streets. He nearly missed the police tape blocking off the pavement outside a restaurant, and had to be caught by an officer. The lights on the cars flashed blue and red. Nico apologised vaguely, circumnavigated the tape and went back to Reyna's.

Reyna was in front of the TV the next morning eating cereal with a slightly glazed expression. The morning news was on, talking about a triple homicide, and an election and the coverage for the two topics seemed to blur into one. Reyna was only paying token attention to the anchors as they discussed alibis and statistics, voter confidence and blood.

"You know we might lose the bar?" Reyna said as Nico entered the room. Reyna always referred to work as though it was hers, but that was just Reyna. She threw herself into everything she did, and she gave it her all. If the bar did change hands and their jobs were in danger, that might actually be a good thing for Reyna: she could do so much better.

And there were other bars Nico could work at.

Reyna was working a shift without Nico that night. Nico stared at the ceiling and counted the cracks and tried not to cry.

The bar did change hands and the new owner made it clear that he was looking to replace the current staff as soon as he could pull someone else through the door. Reyna continued working, but Nico gave up on his shifts immediately. He saw no reason to ever go back.

Lou Ellen suggested he get a job in the coffee shop that had become his second home. She and Cecil were taking it in turns to keep him company and, he suspected, were also trading keeping Will company. At first Nico asked after Will, but the answer was so discouraging he stopped after a while and neither Cecil or Lou Ellen brought him up.

Nico thought about Lou Ellen’s suggestion but eventually didn't think he could cope with having to deal with so many people all day. A bar had been bad enough, but at least most drunk people didn't notice if you were ignoring them, it was usually not so busy that people started shouting but busy enough that people were just grateful when you handed them a drink.

Cecil suggested he become a professional shut it, or extra in a horror film since he already had plenty of practice in staying indoors and he looked like a zombie. Nico had dismissed film extra out of hand, and he didn't have anyone paying his rent anymore so shut in looked unlikely.

The snow began to fall and it dulled the sound of the city slightly. Now when the sirens rang they didn't have the same bite, but the red and blue reflected off the snow brighter than ever. Two cars shot past Nico as he walked back to Reyna's. Another was parked by the mouth of an alleyway. An officer was unrolling the tape, beginning to string it up as more cars arrive.

Red flashed again and that caught his attention. He looked down and saw it in the snow. The smell hit him then and he didn't know how he hadn't noticed it before, sharp and metallic like rust. It didn't look anything like ketchup.

His chest clenched as he thought about all the people it could be - Reyna, Jason, Percy, Lou Ellen, Cecil. Will. He forced himself to follow the trail of blood, to the shadows of the alleyway. It was just an anonymous man with brownish hair and a scraggly beard. He didn't know why he'd expected any different.

He'd left his phone at Reyna's. He often forgot it these days, left it lying all over the place. As soon as he walked through the front door Reyna brandished it at him.

"Jason's been calling for the last hour," she said. "And then he started calling me. Call him back or he'll come over here and say whatever it is in person. In fact the only reason I think he hasn't done that already is because he's supposed to be in class."

"He's in LA; he's not going to do that. You call him. Just tell him I'm fine," Nico answered dully. "Tell him I'm eating properly and sleeping properly and I'm well on the road to recovery."

"He transferred here two weeks ago."

Nico hadn't known that. He guessed it was one of those things he'd missed.

"And I'm not going to call him and tell him that because I'd be lying," Reyna continued. "Besides he said it's urgent. It's about Will."

Nico's head felt light and his legs barely managed to get him shut away in Reyna's box room. His fingers on the other hand felt incredibly heavy and it made it hard to bring up Jason's number on the screen. He held the phone to his hear, hands trembling and his arm like led and listened to the dial tone and the thudding of his heart.

Jason answered after two rings.

"I was literally about to come over," he said. "Why didn’t you tell me Will is working for Luke?"

Next Chapter

#my writing #writing #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #Will solace #will solace/nico di angelo #Nico di Angelo #solangelo #fandom

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sassysweetstories · 6 years

Text

Rivalry 3 //Shawn Mendes Series

Summary: You are a demigod that’s been brought to Camp-Half Blood in hopes to find yourself and learn more about your powers. In fear of being bullied, much like before, you intend to stay behind closed doors until there in no choice but to come out about who’s child you truly belong to.

Ship: Shawn Mendes x Fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, fighting, swearing, fluff, blood, etc.

Tagged: @hard-satin @cynicallystiles @archer-whovian-violinist

Notes: none of these gifs are mine. i saw another fic about demigods and i wanted to try and make it a series. the thoughts been festering in my mind forever now. i hope you like it. (also, none of the demigods and gods are really related. because of the parents fucking around, it’s not legitimate in this series. I ALSO RECOMMEND YOU TO LISTEN TO THE PERCY JACKSON SOUNDTRACK WHILE READING THIS. IT’S SO COOL)

Your P.O.V

I don’t want to leave the comfort of my home, especially after that fight. I knew this was going to happen but I have to leave. I still have classes to attend to after-all. It takes longer than usual to get dressed and head out, my procrastination at it’s peak. I keep my head down and avoid all eye contact. Kids walk by but there’s only a few here and there, whispering words of judgment to one another. But upon arriving to the cafeteria, the room is filled up to the brim with kids. Everyone, and I mean everyone is here, eyeing me warily. The ruckus dies quickly and I feel my face flush in embarrassment, like I’m just going to spontaneously com-bust. I keep my gaze down and head over to get some food. People part and even jump away from me in fear.

I gulp, attempting to suppress the pain I feel inside. Grabbing a breakfast sandwich, some fruit and a drink, I turn over my shoulder to see that everyone has moved to the other side of the room, some even opt to sit on the tables, as long as they’re away from me, they’ll do anything. Even Clarisse is scared. I sit at an empty table and eat as I normally would but the cafeteria, which is usually humming with energy is very dead, no pun intended. I sip my gauntlet, munching here and there, hoping they’ll stop staring but I know they won’t. All of a sudden three bodies sit across from me. Glancing up, Annabeth, Percy and Grover send me a kind smile. My friends. I smile back but it vanishes when I realize that the one person I want most is nowhere to be found. At least, choosing to avoid me.

For the rest of the day, most people choose to avoid me. Whether it’s out of fear or genuine awe, I’m not sure. It’s not at all a nice feeling. I am alone once more, pushed aside like an outcast. I wonder if this is what my father felt when he was banished to hell? I opt to stay in the shadows all day. Sitting in the back of the room for all of my classes where I am not seen. To the kids below, I am nothing but a blur. They cannot fear me if they cannot see me. This process goes on for a few days but eventually people begin to ease up, some, not all. But I cannot wait to expect some sort of change. I let out a heavy sigh and leave the cafeteria heated, attracting more attention than I want. No more, I can’t do this anymore. I think to myself as I pack my belongings into my one suitcase.

Taking a deep breath, I look around the room one more time before sheathing the gargantuan sword to my side. “It was fun while it lasted.” I mutter to the walls as if it was a living breathing thing that could hear me. Resting a letter atop of my counter-top, addressed to my friends, to Shawn, I let a tear fall from my cheek before snapping my fingers. A layer of smoke develops around me, taking me exactly where I intend to go. The only home I seem to have left. The smoke disperses around me and I am left to stand before my fathers temple. I don’t bother to knock, not exactly sure where the doorbell would be anyways. “SHE BETTER BE OKAY, I SWEAR TO THE GODS, HADES!”

Turning around the corner to see my step-mother, Persephone, yelling down at my father. Though I’m not exactly hers, she has taken me under wings as her own which I’ve always appreciated. “Can I ask why you’re ripping him a new one?” I say aloud, enough to catch their attention. Persephone, looking nothing but beautiful, powerful and soft all at once, squeals at the sight of me. Running across the room to pull me into a tight hug, I can’t help but smile. I’m glad to know I’m wanted here. “Hey sweetheart, I missed you so much! You’re alright, right?! You’re not hurt or anything?!” She asks, taking my face with her hands. I can’t help but laugh at her immediate concern. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

My dad comes up from behind, pulling me into a warm side-hug before he pecks my head softly. “Hey, sweetheart. Welcome home. I’m sorry things didn’t work out upstairs. Maybe you can go back in a few days, once everything calms down?” I joke, trying to hide my internal pain. “Kicking me out so soon?” He shook his head, glancing back at his wife with a sad smile. “(Y/n), the point of going to Camp Half Blood isn’t so that you end up back down here with me. Your life is out there, in the real world. You train to inevitably attend missions and save the world from the monsters that threaten to destroy it. I’m not happy about you being in danger but as you have told me before, you’re a big girl. And you are.”

“Your father’s right. Though he may be an ass at times, he has a point. You are always welcomed here. But at the end of the day, you belong up on the surface, fighting and making the world a safer place.” I grin at her wise words, glancing between the two people I adore most. “W-Would it be okay if I stay for a few days? Just to re-evaluate myself?” They share a happy smile, wrapping their arms around me which consoles my broken heart more than they will ever know. “We’ll have a big dinner soon, okay? Cerberus is in the other room if you want to go see him?” I set my suitcase down, hugging them both before running into the other room to see the three-headed dog.

When I return, my father, the god of the underworld, sports a bright pink ‘kiss the cook’ apron. I snort at the sight that laid before me. The god who supposedly is the most terrifying and treacherous of all the gods to ever exist, is dancing around to Highway To Hell by AC/DC while attempting to not burn pancakes. Persephone pecks his cheek as she walks by and he gives me a cheeky smile, shimmying his shoulders and I laugh. It’s such a wholesome image, you’d have to be here to believe it. I peck his other cheek and sit next to my step-mother who pulls me into a nice side hug. “Is AC/DC the only band you listen to, pops?” He scoffs at the question. “It’s a classic!” Stating it as if it were a fact before winking.

“It’s all we have for some odd reason.” Persephone confesses dramatically. I can tell she’s faking it but I hop on board with her sch-peel. “I’ll make sure to buy you guys lots of music next time I come to visit.” She giggles, kissing both my cheeks in delight before helping my father with the cooking. “This is why she’s my favorite.” I watch the interaction between my step-mother and my father, intrigued by their day to day life. You’d expect them to look dreary and solemn but they themselves seem to bring the most vibrant energy the world could offer. “DAD, DON’T BURN THE PANCAKES!” He jumps into action, pulling the pan off the fryer before it could burn anymore than it had. “Nice call, pumpkin!”

We eat together as a normal family would despite the small detail that we were nothing but normal. The conversation is rapid firing, flowing and bouncing wildly. I’ve never laughed so hard, listening to the bickering that’s exchanged between my parents. It’s almost hard to keep track of who is jokingly dissing who. I’m not sure how late it is by the time we finish dinner, but I’m more than exhausted. I say goodnight to the adults and Cerberus, looking up at the dark, empty sky, wondering and hoping that if or when I return, things will get better.

Shawn’s P.O.V

For the love of gods, what have I done? I think to myself as I realize I haven’t seen (Y/n) in a few days. This is all your fault, you blithering idiot! Why did you say something so cruel and untrue to the girl you love?! For the past few days, ignoring her was easy because everyone else was doing the same thing. Not a great excuse, I’m aware. But it was easy to think that because of who she belonged to, I wouldn’t have trouble pushing myself away. But that was honestly the biggest lie. How could I push myself away from someone I was falling for? I slam my hand on the side of the wall in anger. Where had she gone? Was she safe? What if she’s dead? What if she decided to go back and prove her father wrong?

Questions began to boggle my mind as I headed over to find my friends. “Has anyone seen (Y/n)?!” Annabeth looks up at me with distaste, breathing heavily through her nose. Almost as if she’s trying to hold herself back. Percy and Grover eye her warily, looking at me with an equally as upset expression. “She’s gone.” The second the words leave Percy’s mouth, I feel my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. What have I done.. I’ve driven her away.. Why am I such an idiot?! I pushed her away.. Looking around the room, I realize how cold it’s become. With her gone, the warmth and happiness seemed to slip away. Grover hands me a small letter with my name on it with (Y/n)’s hand writing. I tear it open greedily, hands trembling as I read.

Shawn,

I can’t be sorry for who I’m linked to. I can’t apologize for something I cannot change. Hades is my father and I know he might seem like a monster to you, but he save me. He is not as bad as people have made him out to be. But if you believe what you said, that I’m like my father, that I’m a monster, than don’t worry about me. I’ve gone to the one place I’ll be accepted. You’ll never have to deal with me again because I’m gone for good. Not that you would care. I guess we are like our parents, huh? I’m lower than dirt and not worth your time and you’re the golden boy. It’s only best if we stick with those roles.

Goodbye,

(Y/n) (Y/L/N)

The longer I read, the more angry at myself I become. I didn’t mean those things. I reread it again, swallowing down the pain that began to fester. I cover my mouth to stop myself from sobbing. Percy rests his hand on my shoulder to comfort me before leaving with Annabeth and Grover. Alone, I let my knees fall onto the hardwood floor and I sob for the love of my life. She’s gone and not coming back, ripped away from me because of me. I clutch the paper and hold it close to my chest, the last piece of her I’ll ever have. Crying out for my father, for her, someone to console me in time of need but for once in my life, it’s quiet and I am completely and utterly alone. I wonder if this is what Hades felt like? If this is was what (Y/n) felt like?

The thought makes my mouth go sour and I want nothing more than to just gag. All of a sudden, a loud explosion irrupts from outside. Wiping away my tears, I slip the letter in my back pocket but as I do I feel the guilt burn into the side of my hip and run out to see what was going on. Just over the tree-line, a hulking mass with horns the size of mountains lets out an unearthly cry. What the hell is that?! The closer I came, the more I wish I hadn’t. A Minotaur, not as big as Cerberus but none the less, dreadfully intimidating, smashes everything it’s path, crushing and destroying the trees with it. And resting on its shoulders was Luke. How he escaped, managed to control a Minotaur and balance himself on his shoulders was beyond me. What the fuck?! I thought he was taken somewhere else to be charged for his crimes?! I run in a different direction, making my way to Percy, Annabeth and Grover.

“LUKE SUMMONED A FREAKING MINOTAUR?!” Grover shouted over the destruction. “WHERE THE HELL DO YOU EVEN FIND A MINOTAUR?!” Percy and Annabeth glanced at me in shock, not exactly sure how to tame such a treacherous beast. First Cerberus, now a Minotaur?! This wasn’t even a mission but it was definitely the most dangerous task we’ve ever faced, let alone in the past few days. Except this time, we don’t have (Y/n). But I’m glad she’s not here. I couldn’t bare to see her get hurt. Looking over at Percy with a determined expression, my hands tighten. “PERCY! I NEED YOU TO KNOCK LUKE OFF THE MINOTAUR’S SHOULDERS! WE NEED TO GET THOSE TWO SEPARATED SO ANNABETH AND GROVER CAN TAKE HIM DOWN!

“YOU AND I WILL GATHER AS MANY FIGHTERS AS WE POSSIBLY CAN AND FACE THE MINOTAUR!” They nod in unison and then we split apart, Percy running in the opposite direction to get a clear shot at Luke while I distract the monster. I bring my hands together to create a storm. The energy runs up and down my finger tips, just itching to get out. A warm hum falls over the camp and I can feel the storm coming closer. Flicking my wrist, I let one lose. It crashes right down in front of the Minotaur, catching the monsters attention as well as Luke’s. “Why, if it isn’t the golden boy?” While he isn’t looking, Percy sends a wave towards his side. He falls off the Minotaur but successfully lands on his feet.

Annabeth, armed and ready, growls up at him with rage and distaste. “This is over Luke!” He brushed his shoulder, smiling wickedly. “Oh, my dear. It’s only just beginning.” Luke pulls out a long sword, one that looked too heavy for him to hold but he managed before bolting forward to attack Annabeth and Grover. Their swords clashed and the sound rang all throughout the camp. We could actually win this fight. I thought to myself before my heart fell. Right behind the Minotaur came a Chimera, the head of a lion, the body of a goat, a blood caked mane and a ten-foot-long diamondback snake-headed tail which grows out of its shaggy behind. “ARE YOU SEEING THIS SHIT?!” Grover exclaims while he attempts to slow Luke down.

Percy ran between the monsters legs to help me but was pushed to the side by the Chimera’s SUV size paw. Annabeth cried for him, scared for her friend. “PERCY!” Whist distracted, Luke cut her hand. She hissed in pain before dropping her blade. Grover stood in front of her with a short knife, one that probably couldn’t hold Luke off. My friends are hurt, the love of my life might be dead, and I have no means of saving them. Without realizing it, Percy grabs my arm and pulls me in the opposite direction of the chaos. The only thing letting me know that this is all real is the terrifying sounds trailing behind us and the falling trees we attempt to avoid. Grover and Annabeth some how meet up with us and we run in step.

That was until the tail of the Chimera tripped us, making our four bodies quite familiar with the dirt. Just over the tree-line, Luke stands a top the Minotaur’s shoulder while the Chimera trails after him. Kids run away from them but as of right now, they aren’t after them, they’re after us. “IT WAS NICE KNOWING YOU GUYS, REALLY! BUT I NO LONGER HAVE ANY USE FOR YOU ANYMORE.” Luke says with a sinister grin. The Chimera huffed, preparing to burn us alive. I’ve been at this moment before. But before (Y/n) saved me. And because of me she’s gone forever. This time I’m really going to die. I’m going to perish without letting her know how I really felt, if she’s even alive. I intertwine my hands with Percy, too scared to do this alone. He squeezes back and smiles.

Your P.O.V

I look in horror as Luke and his monsters tear apart my home. How dare he?! I clench my fists to suppress the anger that slowly begins to fester but then let my hand fall open. Maybe that’s what I needed to do.. Let my anger and rage go. I shouldn’t have ever left.. Maybe none of this wouldn’t have happened. But right now I cannot wallow in my guilt. I have to act while there’s still a camp left to save. My father rests his hand atop my shoulder, smiling down at me with pride. “Honey, you need to go help them. You belong up there. Go save your friends.” Persephone gives me a supportive nod. I grab my sword, more than ready to rip Luke a new one when my eyes fall on Cerberus. And then, just like my father, I have a dangerously wicked idea. “Hey, dad? Do you happen to have any monsters you don’t need right now?”

Third P.O.V

(I would highly recommend listening to Welcome to The Jungle by Guns N’ Roses, like, right now)

The four demigods held onto one another, scared for their lives and the lives of the others. Even the children of Ares were frightened. None of them would back down from a fight but even Clarisse wasn’t sure how to go about this situation. A large group of kids, most of which couldn’t even protect themselves, cower behind children of Ares and Athena. And poor Percy and Shawn, scared to death, held tightly to their friends. They were sure this would be their end. But when the earth begun to shake and roar, they new the fight was only beginning. Shawn thought Luke had conjured more beasts to reek havoc upon Camp Half Blood, but when he looked upon the son of Hermes’ face, he knew he was wrong.

This was not Luke’s doing. To the left of them, the fire pit which sported all of their celebratory events begun to grow at an unusual rate. The flame grew until it was as tall as the tree-lines. All of the kids inched back, afraid of what else it could possibly be. Even Luke’s Minotaur stepped back in fear. And as the flame dies down, a woman tall and dressed in nothing but black, orange and red, forms from the fire. She steps off the coals and onto the rock railing, clutching the handle of her sword, looking nothing but powerful. “Well if it isn’t Hades’ little spawn.” Luke attempts to say strongly but there’s a tinge of fear in his voice, one that he cannot hide no matter how hard he tried. “You seem to be out numbered.”

The second the words leave his mouth, (Y/n) chuckles, sporting a wicked grin. “It seems I am. But you see, you’ve threaten my camp and I won’t allow that.” He laughs as the Chimera eyes her curiously. “Your camp?! Everyone here hates you. You are the daughter of that monster, after-all. Even your golden boy boyfriend said that.” (Y/n) clenches her fists, bringing her head down to nod before taking a few steps forward. The ground beneath her feet irrupts in flames, searing the dirt below her. “That may be true. I may be a monster and the daughter of a monster.. But it does come with perks-” Drawing her sword, (Y/n) looked more terrifying than ever. Bring her fingers up to her lips, she whistled.

All of a sudden, two roars irrupted from behind her. The kids inch back in fear, but sport a tinge of excitement. She was fighting for them despite how they had treated her. They could actually win this battle. Bumbling from the fire pit, came Cerberus, the three-headed beast. He took her left side, roaring so loud the kids found themselves forced to cover their ears. “You’re still out numbered. Two to one.” Luke says greedily, trying his best to hide his discomfort. Once again, he could lose. There was a chance he would go somewhere worse than the previous prison he successfully saute to get out of. (Y/n) glanced over at Cerberus, his teeth bright and long as saliva poured from his mangled lips. “Yes, I guess so. Why don’t we make it even then?”

She pulls a small whistle from her pocket, grinning up at Luke with her bright red eyes before blowing. The noise is non-existent but just because it isn’t loud doesn’t mean there isn’t something coming, something much more terrifying. And by the gods, there was. If Luke or any of the kids were scared of Cerberus, they’re for sure going to have nightmares about the beast (Y/n) easily summons with a faint blow of a pocket sized whistle. A roar louder than both the Chimera and the Minotaur combined cries out throughout the camp. All of a sudden, a beast with more than five heads sprang from the ground, ripping the earth apart. A hydra, outstretching the size of both the Minotaur and the Chimera. The demigods gaped in awe as the monster cried and took the right side of it’s leader. (Y/n) glanced between her two faithful and loyal guardians with pride.

Luke’s hands trembled in fear but he would never back down from such a fight, never go back to that cage. Whilst the two were distracted, Percy and Grover yanked Annabeth and Shawn’s arms, getting them out of the deadly Chimera’s grasp. Despite the fact that the movement was so small and insignificant, it caught (Y/n)’s gaze which evidently met Shawn’s deep chocolate brown eyes. In that moment, his heart ached for her, as did hers for him. But of course, she would never let him see that innocence, not when such foul words were shared and two hearts were broken not less than a few days ago. Instead, she stood up straighter, jaw-clenched in protest.

Anybody with eyes would know that she was the daughter of Hades. Eyes bright yet dark at the same time with armor as black as night. Nobody could possibly imagine nor grasp the amount of power that festered behind her very skin, just itching to release from her fingertips. With her sleeves cut at the shoulders, the shirt could barely withhold her bulging muscles that seemed to tear away at her waist. (Y/n) did not look like a demigod, for she excelled far greater than that title. She presented herself as a goddess, nothing but strong, terrifying and beautiful all in the same mix. This is who I am. She seemed to say to her unrequited but actual requited love, gazing down at him briefly. I cannot and will not be changed.

And before she could even register his facial reaction, the battle had begun. Cerberus charged forward, barreling towards the Minotaur with a loud and treacherous roar. Luke leaped off the beasts shoulder, jumping just in time to avoid the attack. But the Minotaur took to the ground, trying to fight off Cerberus, who mercilessly drilled into his side. While Luke was on the ground, it was (Y/n)’s moment. She moved quick, avoiding the Chimera’s countless attacks before successfully slipping between its gigantic legs. Just as the Chimera tries turn around and take her down, the Hydra lights up, blowing down on the beast to protect it’s master. The demigods watched in awe, almost too captivated to get up and fight.

Shawn and Percy stand from their hiding spot, glancing at one another with a small smile. “Together?” Percy asks, sheepishly. Though he was one of the most powerful demigods to live on the camp, he was still the same old Percy which was something Shawn always admired. His simplicity and never changing attitude brought the golden boy open and more trusting. The taller boy took his hand in respect before saying, “It would be an honor to fight along your side.” Pulling out his flying shoes, Percy tied them down quickly before unsheathing their swords in unison. Annabeth and Grover joined in, looking as dirty but as determined as the rest. Percy and Shawn take to the skies, aiding Cerberus and the Hydra against Luke’s creatures.

At first, both creatures watched the boys defend them, almost dying in the process. They watched curiously as Shawn let a bright lightning bolt lose, crashing down in front of the Chimera before it could even get near Cerberus. The three-headed dog was more than ready to kill off the demigod. That was until Shawn saved its life. The golden boy looked at the gargantuan dog, gulping before the large beast sniffed him warily before proceeding to stand in front of Shawn, to almost protect him. But in the midst of all the blood, conflict and war, he can’t help but subconsciously look for his beloved, wanting more than anything for her to be safe and out of harms way. But knowing her, she’d be doing the exact opposite.

A few hundred feet away from the golden boy, Shawn fought and kept an eye on her as she dueled with Luke. His fighting was never past Annabeth’s but it was definitely a match for (Y/n). If she was tired, she wouldn’t show it. The daughter of Hades would never show defeat. Their swords clashed together, ringing loudly throughout the camp. The son of Hermes was drenched in his own perspire, wet from head to toe. And though (Y/n) looked alive and thriving, she was getting tired. With a heavy gulp, she suppressed her exhaustion and continued fighting, bringing pain to those who’s day is but a reckoning. And she was winning, soon to be the champion and savior of camp before Luke blocked her sword and with a free hand plunged a knife to her side.

“NOOOOOOO!!!!” Shawn wailed, eyes wide as his once best friend plunged a dagger into his beloveds waist. The golden boy always had control over his lightning and powers, bending and wielding it as he so chooses. But watching the life leave the love of his life’s eyes threw him overboard. All of the energy and power bubble up within him seemed to vanish and disperse, striking down on the camp in all different directions. For once in his life, he couldn’t control his emotions, his powers. All Shawn wanted to do was make Luke pay. A large light blue bolt came crashing down in it’s loud, vibrant and powerful glory, striking Luke down. The son of Hermes went flying in the opposite direction, rolling onto the dirt before he slipped into unconsciousness.

The son of Zeus couldn’t even try to hide his tears even if he tried as he fumbled over to her limp body. As the lightning dispersed, the only thing remaining was a faint hum of energy in the air. “(Y/n)- P-Please be o-okay-” He brokenly mumbled as Shawn wrapped his large hands around her face, cradling her like a child. “O-oh my g-gods, please, I-I can’t lose you-” All of a sudden she gasped back to life, coughing and groaning in pain. Relief washed over the both of them, knowing the other was safe and no longer in harms way. “Shawn?” She asked, not entirely trusting her lopsided vision. He couldn’t help but laugh at her loopy expression, missing the light that fell onto her cheeks whenever he saw her. “Yeah, it’s me. Gods, (Y/n), I am so sorry for the things I said to you-

“I had no right to say such horrible things. And none of them were true. You’re not a monster- neither is your dad- I-I am so sorry about everything- I thought I lost the love of my life- I thought I lose you-” He says quickly, scanning her face likes it’s the last time he might ever see her again. Shawn wants to remember her, every feature, every flaw before she slips from his grasp. “Y-You love me?” She asks, her voice so much softer and innocent, it almost doesn’t sound like her. But he knows it is. He nodded, glancing back and forth between her eyes and her moist lips. “I thought I lost you, (Y/n)..” And despite the situation, and its seriousness, she chuckles. “You’ll never lose me. I am the daughter of death, after-all. You think a butter-knife will kill me?”

She wipes his tears away, admiring his bright smile as he shakes his head before saying. “Oh, shut up-” Before (Y/n) could make another witty comeback he placed his lips atop hers, and just like he’d imagined, they were hot and moist, like being filled up with fire and energy. He felt like a thousand degrees, not in a smokey, suffocating way. But just to leave you begging, wanting more of her warmth and what power she has to offer. His lips were soft, just as she’d thought despite the destruction he could give off. Warm but colder than hers, definitely. A small bolt transferred through her and (Y/n)’s whole body felt alive, fuzzy and tingly. She could feel the electricity and power he gave off and the feeling was outwardly. “I love you..” She mutters against his lips, wanting to feel his energy again. He cradled her close and smiled bright. “I love you, too.”

(I hope you guys liked it!! Please comment below! I REALLY appreciate the feedback. I loved this AU and I’d really like to more if you think of some!!)

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poipoi1912 · 7 years

Text

Carisi-centric thoughts on Ep 19x03

Yet another solid episode! This season is going to be a winner. Also, THE BARISI CORNER IS OFFICIALLY BACK :D

But first:

Overall Thoughts

OK, this wasn’t much to write home about, but it was more than serviceable. All three actresses were very good so they kept me engaged, the case was pleasantly twisty but not convoluted, Sonny had significant input as a lawyer (and I loved how Liv was all “we’ll follow Carisi’s suggestion!”) and Barba delivered a heated and eloquent closing argument. I enjoyed it.

Squad Thoughts

More sharing of personal information! I swear, Sonny and Fin have talked to each other more in these last two episodes than they did in the previous 3 2 seasons! And they didn’t need some random case-related segue, either. This week, they were just driving to a crime scene, and they were shooting the breeze on the way there. You know, like normal colleagues do. Like real people do. Not cardboard cutouts. Something small like that, something as silly as stealing candy as a little boy, it can breathe life into a scene which would otherwise be mundane.

The thing is, even when an episode is not as exciting, it’s still worth watching just to see our characters interacting and being friends. That’s what SVU seemed to have forgotten, and it’s also the key to making a watchable procedural. Let’s face it, all the cases have been done before (often by SVU itself, because it’s been on for a hundred years), but the team interactions can )and should) be enough to maintain the viewers’ interest. This season, it’s clear the team dynamics are being cultivated, instead of being ignored, and that makes me happy.

The Barisi Corner

WE'RE BACK.

Just like I hoped, it's like S18 never happened. We're back to the S17 Barisi dynamic of friendly teasing and inside jokes. In the deleted scene from the premiere, we got the classic "booyah, Fordham law" type of interaction, except in its advanced S17 form. Where in S16 Barba would be biting with his remarks, in S17 and in the 19x01 deleted scene he was just making a joke for the sake of a joke, because that's what they do. Sonny tries to impress Barba, Barba is totally impressed, and then he makes a joke to pretend he's not actually appreciative of Sonny's input.

In this episode, we got an even more advanced interaction. We got Sonny making a smart legal observation not just to impress Barba, but because he wanted to contribute to the case. And, just like in S17, Barba was impressed, and then he used a joke not to diss Sonny, but to praise him.

See, there are two kinds of humorous Barisi interactions.

There's "Sassy Sonny Tries to Impress Barba" which comes complete with Sonny's dimples, and Sonny's smirks, and Sonny's cocky remarks like, "Oh, Rafael, are you mad you didn't think about it first?" This type of Barisi interaction always ends with a Barba side-eye and a snarky comeback. When Barba knows that Sonny is flaunting, he's always quick to shut it down. That's the joke. Sonny starts blathering on about a hypothetical argument, just to show off his legal skillz, and Barba is amused, but he also acknowledges the alterior motive, i.e. Sonny's desire to get Barba's approval.

But then there's "Dedicated Sonny Tries to Crack the Case" which comes with Sonny's frown and Sonny's desire to get justice, and Sonny's casual use of legal terminology like "obfuscated." This type of Barisi interaction always ends with Barba subtly praising Sonny, using a joke to cover up a genuine compliment. When Barba knows that Sonny is trying to be helpful, he's always quick to encourage it. That's Barba's favorite thing. Seeing Sonny creatively solving a legal problem with no ulterior motive. Sure, their games are fun, and they've been fun for 3 2 seasons now, but at the end of the day they're both trying to get justice, and Barba loves it when Sonny focuses on their work.

That's the thing. Both Sonny and Barba have evolved. Sonny used to thirst for Barba's approval, early on, in S16, but soon after that he found his confidence, and his footing, and his place on the team. He still tries to show off for Barba, because it's fun, but that's no longer his main motivator when he speaks legalese. Sonny isn't a law student looking to get that A, he's a lawyer looking to get that D. And his actions and words have come to reflect that. Now he doesn't just state the obvious as Barba jokes "save it for night school." Now, Sonny has original ideas which can actually help SVU.

And Barba, who treated Sonny so condescendingly at first, Barba has come to see the change in Sonny as well. The humorous element of their interactions persists, because Barba is a snarky bastard, but now those same interactions are loaded with respect. With friendship. With flirtation. Barba is no longer dismissive of Sonny, and hasn't been for a long while. Barba sees Sonny as a useful presence in the squad, with legal knowledge the other cops don't possess, and it's clear he welcomes Sonny’s observations. It’s right there in his smile smirk. Barba is willing to listen, and he’s even willing to entertain the notion that Sonny just might think of something he didn't, which is beautiful to see :')

Barisi Hopes

Now all I want is that other type of S17 interaction, the quiet support. Sonny always supported Barba in tougher moments, like the death threats (what death threats lol?), or a trial gone wrong, but Barba also supported Sonny, especially during that Catholic Church case, as we all remember. I'm loving the new showrunner's tendency to use humor to display the bonds between our characters, it's just the perfect thing to balance out the grim nature of the cases, but I'd love to see some more muted, more emotional moments between them (between all of them, but Barba/Carisi especially, lol). We have an entire season ahead, so there's still plenty of time. I'll be waiting.

For now, I'm just happy the classic Barisi dynamic is back.

I've said it time and time again, and I don't even mean romantically (that's what fic is for). Those two characters, Barba and Carisi, they have a dynamic that's gold. Clashing personalities (Sonny is dorkier, Barba is more sarcastic), contrasting temperaments (Sonny is sunnier, Barba is a little more bitter), common interests (the law), a reluctant mentor-mentee relationship (which has evolved now that the student is no longer a student, though he's far from being a master), a constant willingness to joke back-and-forth (which keeps building up their relationship and strengthens their bond), fundamental differences which breed a potential for unexpectedly emotional moments ("I admire your...", because Sonny is an openly affectionate person, and Barba and his wide eyes tend to shy away from affection), it's all there.

Good writing, plus a willingness to explore that bond, plus the natural ease Peter and Raul have with each other as actors, plus Sonny’s sweetness and Barba’s sass = television gold. And Barisi gold :’)

Yummy Thoughts

Barba was flirting. End of story. Textbook “there is no heterosexual explanation for this.” And I’m grateful.

Barba Thoughts

I’ve always said it, I prefer seeing “shrewd legal mind” Barba instead of “slave to his emotions” Barba, but the latter sure is fun to watch. That closing was intense, and you could see that Raul really dug his teeth into those lines. I mean, damn. It’s not every week that he gets to really show off, with more than an eyebrow raise or a smirk, but when he does, wow. I was just thinking, they rarely let Raul have a legitimate monologue, even though he’s a lawyer and theoretically we could be watching his opening and/or closing arguments every week. This episode tells me that the writers might be saving those moments, and using them sparingly, so they’ll have more of an impact. And I think they’re right.

That said, I wonder if we’ll be seeing a focus on Barba’s more emotional side, to better juxtapose him to the upcoming ADA, who’ll be more black-and-white and (I’m assuming) less emotional. If so, this was a smart way to start doing that. In this episode, we still saw how smart Barba was, but we also saw a passion we don’t often see from him. I’m assuming Barba and Peter Stone will clash on more than their positions, they’ll clash on philosophy, as well, and I hope this was an example of that. We have to see the “new” (but old) Barba, he has to be established first, under the new showrunner’s reign, and then we can be introduced to Stone, and see what they have in common and what they’ll never agree on.

Stray Thoughts

Just like I thought, last week's dramatic ending (and Sonny’s potential subsequent trauma) was not directly referenced. It may come up again in the future, but again, as I said in last week's post, this is classic Original L&O stuff, a self-contained dramatic episode which ends and is never mentioned again. L&O in its earlier seasons was much less serialized, and I think the new showrunner is bringing that back. I don't mind it.

Another thing I didn’t mind? Flirty Sonny using his masculine wiles to cozy up to that witness and get her to help. Now that’s how you use your assets :D

“CONFIRMED.” I love Fin.

That old high school pic? I love that NBC employs people who have a passion for graphic design :’)

More background on Sonny’s family! The show remembers he has a niece! His mom used to cover for him for childhood shenanigans! He went to confession for stealing candy! Classic Carisi material. And continuity galore. This is the Sonny we know and love.

Amanda dismissively saying “pills, booze” to judge a woman who was on prescribed anxiety meds and enjoyed, like, a beer? Never change, Amanda. actually, please change (that said, yay for continuity!)

What a waste of Annabeth Gish.

So Brooke Shields is the grandma? Wasn’t that what everyone guessed? I was trying to come up with other guesses because I actually believed them when they said “no one has guessed who she’ll play”. Oh well. That said, she looked amazing, and I’ve always liked her. It’ll be nice to have someone with a (seemingly) kinder demeanor fighting against Liv. Not a criminal or a lawyer, you know? We haven’t seen that before.

Amanda and Liv’s jackets keep slaying my existence every week.

WHY DIDN’T WEE SONNY’S REACTION TO “YUMMY”???? HUH???? WHERE IS THAT CLOSE-UP OF HIS SMIRKY DIMPLY LIL’ FACE???

Did I write more than 900 words of this post about a 5-second Barisi interaction? HELL YEAH I DID :D

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ilikebigbooks-and-icannotlie · 7 years

Note

"#when your fav is problematic" Excuse you? I'm not at all- okay yeah I'm v problematic

You’re totally problematic, but problematic in the best way! And as it turns out, you’re not the only problematic one…

A gift for you - my very first official fanfic. I hope you enjoy it, because I legitimately wrote it just for you, @son-of-rome :)

Empty Kisses and Broken Bottles

It had been 11 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days.

Exactly.

Not that she was counting.

She was staring out of the frost-covered window of the apartment, looking over the city before her, but seeing nothing.The streets were broken memories of a love long lost, but never forgotten. Itall felt empty now.

Sometimes there were good days. Where she almost forgot,where she felt like she could breathe. But today was too much. The pressure onher chest, where her heart was supposed to be, hurt too much.

Supposed to be.

Because her heart was, and forever would be, with him.

She blinked once, twice, and looked around the comfortableroom. Her new home.

She wiggled further into the worn-out couch, pulling herblanket tighter around her, as the fire roared in the fireplace. The distantsound of One Direction playing over the speakers in the kitchen pulled her outof her stupor, but it was the terrible off-key singing which accompanied itthat brought the small smile to her face.

The delicious smells swirling in the air reminded her thatshe hadn’t eaten since that morning. Her stomach growled in protest.

She sat up, the large quilt slipping off of her as shestretched and walked towards the kitchen. It had been a gift from hermother-in-law. All of his T-shirts were sewn together in a swirling pattern,allowing her to surround herself with the only memory she allowed of him.

Of Percy.

Her bare feet padded against the cold hardwood floors as shecrossed her arms, pulling her sweater tighter around her body. Her long, blondeponytail swayed at her back.

She walked into the kitchen and instantly stepped up behindJason, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into his back.

A small smile she couldn’t see grew on his lips, as heintertwined his fingers with hers, reminded once again of how much he lovedher. Of how happy he was to have her with him. He bobbed his head to the music,shaking his hips against her to drag a laugh out of the lips she had pressed tohis back, as he stirred the various pots on the stove top with his other hand.

After Percy had died, he was the one desperately trying tomake sure she didn’t fall apart. He hadn’t really cared for the guy, but he’dspent his life loving Annabeth, even if she hadn’t known it.

Everyone thought he was the asshole stealing the dead hero’sgirl.

He didn’t care what they thought.

He just wanted her to be happy. He didn’t care if she didn’tlove him. And most days, he was almost sure she didn’t.

All he wanted was to keep her alive. After the accident, hehad been the one to find her at the hospital sobbing on the ground, fallinginto oblivion.

He was the one who made sure she survived.

He made sure she ate, and hydrated, and showered, and showedup to work on time, and stayed alive.

But he knew that nights were the worst of all. And there wasnothing he could do about that.

Until the day she couldn’t take it anymore. Being alone.Looking at the empty bed where her husband used to lie.

Until the day she asked him to stay. So he did.

And other days, she stayed with him.

Some days she hadto stay with him. Some days she couldn’t look at their house anymore. At thememories. The porch swing where they’d sat up all night looking at the stars. Thebed where they slept together. The kitchen where they’d cooked together,because neither of them was good enough to cook alone- and the blue-stainedcounters from the food coloring he insisted on putting in every batch ofpancakes. The bathroom, with its memories of their morning showers. The couchwhere they would marathon show after show, not really paying attention, andhaving to watch the same episode countless times. The tomato sauce stain on thecarpet where they’d knocked over their pizza in anger the day the Mets playedthe Yankees. She couldn’t even remember which team won anymore, she justremembered their laughter as they’d tried to clean it up. Her breathy giggleson the phone as she attempted to order another, while he placed soft kissesalong her neck.

The beach where he’d proposed.

Tears pricked her eyes.

And then she was pulled out of her memories again. “Annabeth,you asleep back there?” He turned his head, rubbing her hand.

“Mmm,” she mumbled, “I was trying to be.” She hated lettinghim see her like this. Hated the look on his face, the sadness there, that sheknew was reflected in her. The love, that was not reflected.

She loved him, that much was for sure. He had been thereason she had begun to smile again.

But even after everything he’d done for her, she couldn’tlove him the way he loved her.

She couldn’t love him enough.

He chuckled at her grumbled response, pulling her armstighter around him, and turning back to whatever he was sautéing.

He found her on one of those days, in her old house, their old house, on the floor, aching,sobbing, breaking.

Broken.

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t even remember what hadtriggered her. Just that she had been. And suddenly she was in the hospitalagain. The panic had hit, the misery swept through her heart, the pain, god the pain was unbearable, shepulled her hair, feeling herself falling apart, as she curled up in a ball onthe ground, shaking, dying. No, notdying. But wishing she was.

And he’d found her there.

And she’d begged him, beggedhim, to take her away. And he had. And she hadn’t set foot in Montauk since.

That was the first night she’d kissed him. The first nightshe’d done more. The first time she’d selfishly used him, as a distraction. Assomething, anything, to pull her away. And she hated herself, because deepdown, she knew it wasn’t the last.

But when she moved in, it grew. The love grew. And somedays, the good days, he was all she saw. He was the light in her life. And theylaughed, and they held hands, and she was there, and she was with him, and shewas happy to be there with him. They kissed, and they touched, and sometimesshe couldn’t keep her hands off him, and she didn’t want to.

But the bad days. God,the bad days. Those were the hardest of all.

There were different kinds of bad days. First, the kindwhere she started to cry, and she couldn’t stop. When it all became too much.The memories. The sadness. The abandonment. The darkness. Too much. But it wasokay, because he held her. And she knew he would never let go.

Then, there were the bad days filled with guilt. The dayswhere she couldn’t even look at him. The days she screamed. The days shecouldn’t eat. Where if she did, she’d throw up. Where she hated herself forbeing with Jason, feeling like she’d left Percy. Where she hated herself forfeeling that way. Where she hated herself for being with Jason because she knewthat he deserved so, so, much better.

Lastly, there were the silent days. The days where she wassimply numb. Where she didn’t know what to say. Where she felt like there wasnothing to say at all. Where she was too broken to breathe. Too shattered toexist. Those were the days that Jason had to do the most to pull her through.Where she was a ghost. They were also the days that scared him the most.Because he could feel her slipping away.

He stepped out of her arms to grab more spices and shesmiled up at him as he turned back towards her.

He bent down, placing a sweet kiss to her nose as he pulledher into his chest.

His hands went straight to her ass as she stood up on hertoes, pulling herself out of her memories, and kissing his lips. He was alittle shorter than Percy, easier to reach. Her hips ground against his as herarms wrapped around his neck. He growled against her lips, gently biting themas one of his hands climbed up her back, reaching under her shirt. He pulledhis lips off of hers to press gentle kisses to her neck, nipping at thesensitive spot right where it met her shoulder, and sending chills down herspine. A hazy moan slipped past her lips as he sucked on her collar bone.“Dinner is going to burn,” he murmured against her warm skin, “and it’s goingto be all your fault.” She pulled his head back up to meet her eyes, a realsmile on her lips as she kissed him softly one last time.

“Thank you,” she whispered, causing him to chuckle as hecompletely misunderstood the reason behind it. Turning around to grab forks andknives, she let him get back to making dinner.

“Really,” he continued, “it’s probably more your leggings’fault than anything else. Those things make your ass look way better thanshould be legal.”

The sound of metal hitting the ground caused him to quicklyturn around, just in time to see her bending over, her face turned towards him,a mischievous smile on her lips. “Oops,” she grinned as he bit his lip, thelust evident in his stormy blue eyes.

He moved as though he was about to step forward, and thenquickly turned back to the stove top, aggressively stirring his sauce. Shepretended not to notice as he adjusted his pants, and grabbed some plates andwine glasses to bring to the table.

The wine rack called to her on the way back, and she stoppedto assess their collection. “White or red,” she called out to him, over thesounds of his dying whale noises.

“How about a nice Cabernet Sauvignion?”

Reaching for the bottle he’d brought back from his last tripto California, she began the hunt for a corkscrew.

Soon enough, the table was set, the food was served, andJason had even begun to look with her, but the corkscrew was nowhere to befound.

Suddenly, he stopped.

“Hold up, I got this.”

Bottle of wine in hand, he headed into the basement.

Annabeth simply shook her head, rolled her eyes, and resumedher search. Her boyfriend claimed to “have it” far more often than he actuallydid.

Boyfriend.

Husband.

Dead husband.

And there it was. Just like that, it began.

She stopped breathing. She couldn’t breathe. Silent tears poured out of her as she fell to theground.

The wake. The closed casket because her husband’s body hadbeen too battered, too broken, too burned to show.

The funeral. The bodies. Friends, family, neighbors, strangers.All gathered. Percy had always said that he wanted a celebration at his death.People remembering his happy life, instead of the sad end. So that’s what shedid, she smiled, and celebrated, and hosted, and put on a mask. The perfectwife, the perfect widow, while people cried around her, and she comforted them.She comforted them. Telling them itwould be okay. Telling them hewouldn’t want their tears.

But when all was said and done. When there was no one left.When she crawled into bed alone, staring at the spot where he used to lie.There was no one there to dry her tears. No one to tell her it would be okay.And even though she knew it, there was no one there to tell her Percy wouldn’twant her to cry.

And again they fell. Rolling down her cheeks, unstoppable, asa chill settled in her heart and wouldn’t leave. This time felt different. Itfelt like they would never leave.

Jason cheered comingup the stairs, a giddy smile on his face, not knowing the storm he was about towalk into. “Babe, I just opened a wine bottle with a screwdriver. Call me Bobthe Builder, fixing shit. Solving problems.” He laughed, taking a victory swigfrom the bottle, before he turned towards her.

The bottle shattered against the tiles of the empty kitchen,as he ran over and fell down to the ground beside her, wrapping her into hiswarm embrace.

This was a different kind of bad day.

Dinner was forgottenas he surrounded all of her with all of him. She felt so small in that moment.And it killed him.

He scooped her shaking body into his arms, pulling her intohis lap, and holding her close. Aching sobs racked through her chest, echoingthrough the apartment. He rocked back and forth, trying to whisper comfort intoher soft blonde curls. His armstightened around her as the intolerable pain felt like it would take her allover again.

She loved him.

And he was gone.

Jason’s heart was breaking for the girl he loved.

The girl who would never fully love again.

So he held the broken pieces of his shattered soul mate,kissing her tears away, desperately trying to hold her together.

Because he may not have been the love of her life.

But she would always be the love of his.

Note: Jason x Piper (Jasper/Jasiper/whatever you want to call them) was never a thing in this AU.

#enjoy dan #pjo #son-of-rome #hoo #jasabeth #fanfic #oh look it's me #I guess I'm writing now #jason grace #annabeth chase #when your fave is problematic

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doctorsorders-deathboy · 7 years

Text

The Third Rule

Based on the one word prompt “Party” sent in by @bailci (ty!!). Happy Valentine’s Day (especially to my fellow single people spending today with fictional people instead of real ones. you rock). You’re all wonderful and I love you all so much <3

Summary: When Nico reluctantly goes to a Valentine’s Day party with Hazel, she sets three rules for him to follow if he wants for her to agree to take him home after an hour. The first two are easy enough, but the third one poses a bit more of a problem, due to the fact that Nico really isn’t sure how the whole flirting thing is done.

Word Count: 2735

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“Alright, I have three rules,” Hazel announced as she parked the car.

Nico rolled his eyes. “I thought you promised tonight would be fun.”

“These are fun rules.”

“There’s no such thing.”

She leaned over to punch his shoulder, perhaps a bit harder than necessary. “Hush. Now, rule number one is that you have to actually try to enjoy yourself, okay? You’re not allowed to give up before you’ve started. Again, we can leave after an hour if you really don’t want to be here anymore but you have to try. Got it?”

Nico nodded resignedly.

“Good. Rule number two: Limit the alcohol.”

Nico raised his eyebrows. “And by that you mean no alcohol?”

Hazel sighed, biting her lip. “No, and if this doesn’t show you how desperate I am for you to have fun then I don’t know what will. But yeah, someone’ll have brought a keg or something and I’ve made the questionable decision to let you have some.”

“You know, last time I checked, I was the older one.”

She punched him again. “Yeah, but I’m the wiser one.”

He scoffed but let her continue.

“Right, so you’re close enough to twenty-one that I’m willing to turn a blind eye to you having a little to drink, but there’s no way you’re getting anywhere past tipsy, understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled at that.

“Alright, then. Rule number three, and this is an important one, Nico: I swear to God, if a cute boy starts flirting with you, you are absolutely required to flirt back.”

Nico frowned, pulling his jacket tighter around himself.

“Oh, don’t give me that look, you’re lucky I’m going easy on you.”

“Easy?” Nico asked, incredulously.

“Yes, if I were a little bit meaner then I’d require that you be the one to initiate the flirting.”

Nico just shook his head. “Fine, whatever.”

Hazel grinned, unbuckling her seatbelt. “Good! Let’s go!”

Nico shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he approached the big house where the party was. He still wasn’t entirely sure who actually owned the place and was hosting the party, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to care all that much either.

“Okay, are you going to be fine on your own or do I need to supervise you?” Hazel asked once they’d reached the door. She opened it to reveal more noise than Nico had expected, even considering how much of it had bled through the walls into the air outside.

“Hazel, I’m twenty years old.”

“Yet you still act like a whiny baby.”

“Hazel. I’ll be fine on my own.” Despite it being February, the inside of the house was so warm that Nico suddenly regretted wearing a jacket.

“Fine, but you’d better follow the rules mister or else you’ll be stuck here for much longer than an hour.”

“Yes, mom.”

“Okay, I think Frank’s upstairs. Bye! Have fun!” Hazel blew him a kiss as she disappeared into the crowd, the red of her skirt blending in with the similarly colored attire of everyone else at the party.

Nico suddenly felt conscious about his own clothing choice. He wasn’t really one for caring much about the way he looked as he spent most of his time either alone or with the small group of friends that were already familiar with his dark wardrobe. But now he was at a party with people he didn’t know. On Valentine’s Day. Alone.

He suddenly regretted sending Hazel away, but he still figured it was better than third wheeling. He began wandering through the house, looking for other people he knew.

It took him a while to find Jason due to the size of the house but he eventually spotted him on the second floor. His shoulders slumped in relief as he opened his mouth to shout in greeting before stopping suddenly.

Piper wrapped her arms around Jason from behind, happily pulling him across the room. He smiled widely as he followed her, laughing at something she said. She dragged him over to where Percy and Annabeth were talking in the corner, apparently sharing whatever joke she’d told Jason with them. Nico hesitated to join them.

Hazel’s first rule was to try his best to enjoy himself. That sounded fair enough. But did that mean third wheeling (fifth wheeling?) or wandering around with the hope of finding someone else to talk to?

Nico eventually fell back into the shadows, where he’d always felt the most comfortable, and after discovering that he felt infinitely more relaxed, decided that the shadows were going to be the best place for him that night.

Then he remembered Hazel’s second rule.

He made his way back down the stairs in what he was pretty sure was the direction of the kitchen. He’d never really drank before, besides a few sips of wine on New Year’s Eve, and could only hope that he’d look like he’d have any clue what he was doing once he found the keg.

Finding the kitchen wasn’t too difficult considering there was a pretty steady stream of people entering and exiting it. Nico did his best to look like he was experienced when he filled up his plastic cup with lukewarm beer from the huge keg that sat precariously upon a stool in the kitchen. He retreated to the shadows as soon as possible before taking his first sip, grimacing slightly at the bitter taste. He frowned before taking another sip of the cheap beer.

Suddenly, a strong arm was thrown over his shoulder. “Hey, man!” Nico jumped at the unfamiliar voice and sudden physical contact, turning quickly as his drink sloshed over the side of his cup.

Nico suddenly found himself in close proximity to a bright red face with wide, embarrassed blue eyes. The man’s blond hair looked like it hadn’t seen a comb since the dark ages whereas his teeth, which were only barely visible now due to the o-shape his mouth was making, were startlingly white.

And he had Nico’s beer all down the front of his white shirt.

The two of them rushed into a frenzy of apologies, speaking uncomfortably loudly in order to be heard over the music.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, I thought you were a friend,” the blond said. The arm that had previously been over Nico’s shoulder now fidgeted at his side as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

Nico just shook his head, his eyes on where his beer had made the blond’s shirt stick to his chest. “No, I’m sorry about your shirt, I didn’t mean to―”

The blond grinned at Nico goodnaturedly, waving his hand carelessly. “No, no, this would be my fault,” he said gesturing to his front. “God, I’m such an idiot. I’m a junior, I should know by now not to wear white to parties.”

It suddenly came to Nico’s attention that the rest of the blond’s outfit was extremely colorful. He wore a bandana as a headband―an honest to god bandana―that was bright red with small white hearts scattered across it and bright red jeans to match. Nico didn’t even know jeans could be that color, but there they were and Nico was trying so, so hard not to stare because those pants were not only literally bright red but also rather tight and Nico really did mean to avert his eyes but this boy looked like an honest to god model and Nico had gone and ruined it by spilling his drink on him―

“Hey, you okay?” the blond asked, leaning down slightly to meet Nico’s eyes.

“Yeah, sorry,” Nico answered quickly, shifting his gaze to meet the other boy’s.

Shit.

There was a short moment when neither of them was quite sure what to do or say next, and Nico worried that the blond would leave.

“Do you want to borrow my jacket?” Nico asked suddenly, surprising himself. “To cover up your shirt, I mean.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” the other guy answered, rubbing his neck nervously. Nico took that as a sign to back off.

Oh God, did he think I was trying to flirt?

Was I?

“Okay, well, sorry again,” Nico said, backing away. He didn’t hear the other guy’s response over the loud music as he quickly disappeared into the crowd. He checked his phone. Shit. He’d only been at the party for fifteen minutes.

He looked down at the half empty cup of beer in his hand and frowned, leaving it on a table as he went in search of some quiet.

~*~

“Cheater!” Hazel’s voice cried as she burst into the bathroom.

Nico looked up with raised eyebrows. “You know, generally when you knock on a bathroom door and someone says it’s occupied, you aren’t supposed to go in.”

“You are if that someone is being a grump,” Hazel argued, sitting down across from Nico in the bathtub.

“I could have legitimately been taking a piss.”

Hazel rolled her eyes. “Not nearly as likely as you sulking.”

Nico just shook his head, looking down at his phone. “Can we go now?”

“No! You haven’t even followed my first rule.”

“I did for a full fifteen minutes.”

“Oh come on, Nico. You should’ve given yourself a better chance. Jason’s here, you could hang out with him.”

“Jason’s with Piper. I don’t want to third wheel.”

Hazel sighed. “What about my third rule, then? You’re not the only single person here, Nico.”

“You’ll be happy to know that I ran into a very attractive boy. However, I proceeded to spill my drink on him and then make him uncomfortable by offering him my jacket. So yeah, I’m afraid I’ll be spending the next half hour or until you let me leave in here.”

“Oh, Nico,” Hazel sighed, reaching out to pat his knee. “I’m sorry. But it’s not always going to work, you know? That doesn’t mean you should stop trying.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “It never works,” he grumbled. He looked up suddenly, frustration welling up in him. “Why is everyone straight?” he asked exasperatedly. “Why are none of the cute ones ever gay?”

Hazel just smiled. “Well, if you want a better shot at finding a guy, I could arrange for you to go to gay nightclub on your birthday…”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Then get your butt back out there! If you’re all flirted out, then you can come hang out with me at least. We’ll make Frank third wheel, he won’t mind.”

“No, I think he might.”

“Nope!” Hazel stood up and took Nico’s hand. “Come on, time to go have more fun.”

“I’m having fun right here.”

“Nico, please. It’s like you’re trying to annoy me.”

He let a small grin slip despite his attempts not to. “Only a little.”

Hazel didn’t say a word, just shook her head and grabbed Nico’s hand as she dragged him back out to the party.

~*~

“Oh my god, that’s him,” Nico hissed, gesturing to the blond with his head as Hazel led him across the room.

“Who, Will?” Hazel asked.

The blond―Will―was laughing with Annabeth, still wearing his beer stained shirt. And Hazel was leading Nico straight towards him.

“Hazel, shit, that’s him.”

Her eyes lit up at this as she pulled Nico closer, much to his chagrin. “What the hell are you―” he hissed before Hazel spoke loudly, interrupting him.

“Look who I found!” she exclaimed, dragging Nico over to the group. Nico met Will’s eyes, which were wide and blue above flushed cheeks.

“Hey, Nico, I was wondering where you were!” Jason clapped him on the shoulder and handed him a plastic cup to replace the one he’d set down earlier.

The others greeted him before Annabeth introduced Will. “We had biology together as freshman,” she added as Will nodded at Nico good naturedly, though he fidgeted the same way he had earlier.

Nico looked away, trying to act like he was interested in the conversation Percy and Frank were having while fighting to keep a blush down. God, he felt tired. He just wanted to go home, sleep, and hope that in the morning he’d forget any of his embarrassment that night had ever happened.

“Alright, ladies and gents,” a dramatic voice came over the speakers. Nico looked around before spotting Travis Stoll standing up on the coffee table across the room with a microphone in hand. “It’s that time of night, folks, grab that special someone to dance with and please only do spins and dips if you can trust yourselves not to knock down any more lamps.”

A slow song kicked in, unbelievably cheesy from the very first note and Nico gagged exaggeratedly.

Will laughed and Nico felt a small bit of pride well up in himself.

“Alright, you loners,” Hazel joked good naturedly as she waved Will and Nico in the direction of the big glass doors that led to the back yard. “Get out of here if you’re going to be grumps.” Nico willingly walked over to the doors, but not before Hazel grabbed his arm and quickly hissed in his ear, “Gay, single, unbelievably cute, wants to be a doctor. If you do not leave this party with that boy’s number, I will make your life miserable.” She then pulled back smiling and kissed him on the cheek before heading over to where Frank was standing. “Good luck!”

Nico stood frozen for a short moment before his legs carried him outside. He wasn’t quite sure how it happened but suddenly he was leaning against the porch railing next to Will.

“You know, every time I come to one of these parties, I think, ‘Maybe tonight the slow song will actually be good,’ but it just never is,” Will said, shaking his head. His gaze was trained on the sky and Nico was grateful for the lack of eye contact.

He huffed in agreement. “None of the music they play at these parties is ever good.”

“What, you’re not a Top 40 kind of guy?” Will asked, not unkindly.

“Definitely not.” Nico said it a bit firmer than he meant to and Will laughed.

It was much colder outside than it was inside, not to mention windy, and Will shivered slightly as a cold breeze blew through.

Nico only hesitated a moment before asking, “Are you sure you don’t want my jacket?”

Will retreated back into the nervous persona he’d had when he’d first run into Nico, only this time Nico was able to recognize that it wasn’t flat out discomfort. Will flushed slightly as he rubbed his neck the way he had earlier, biting his lip as he offered Nico a small smile.

Nico was making a cute boy blush. He couldn’t wait to brag to Hazel.

“I don’t know if it’d fit,” Will said, eyes bright despite his fidgeting.

Nico scoffed. “I only ever wear jackets if they’re three sizes too big.” He shrugged it off and handed it over to Will, watching as he put it on.

Nico found himself staring for the second time that evening. His jacket looked like a completely different piece of clothing on Will. Nico had always used it as something to drown in, a wearable safety blanket, but on Will it fit perfectly. His broad shoulders filled the top of the jacket and it fit comfortably on his form, tapering in all the right places.

“Shit,” Nico muttered, which he would insist was an accident if anyone asked.

Will fidgeted again under Nico’s stare, clearing his throat. “Thanks. For the jacket.”

“No problem. I might just let you keep it. You wear it much better than I do.”

Will cleared his throat again but his smiling eyes betrayed his visible nervousness. “I wouldn’t be able to keep it. How would I pay you back?”

Nico shrugged, fighting to keep a smile off his face. “I have a few ideas.”

~*~

“Can we go now?” Nico asked an hour later, pulling Hazel aside. He was completely exhausted.

Hazel’s eyebrows drew together in concern. “Did things not go well with Will?”

Nico held up his phone, displaying the recently added contact. “Well, I wouldn't say that. However, that does nothing to change my energy level, which just reached zero. I don’t care if you’re ready to leave, but I’m taking the car.”

As Hazel rushed after him to bombard him with questions, Nico didn’t bother holding back his smile.

#solangelo #nico di angelo #will solace #fanfiction #fanfic #pjo #hoo #toa #riordanverse #fluff #request #bailci

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gatesofember · 6 years

Text

Yellow Balsam: Chapter 3

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 4

Rating: G | Pairing: Solangelo

Prev | Next | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage

Summary: Will returned to Venadica early in the spring to help prepare for the Grand Expo — an international fair held to showcase national talents, encourage cultural exchange, and share discoveries and innovations. Nico is eager to visit his fiancé after being apart for so many months — with the excuse of visiting the Expo as Pluto’s Prince, of course — especially now that their betrothal has been formalized. However, the trip does not go quite the way Nico envisioned.

Nico was not having the best of days. To start with, Reyna had woken him up by dousing him in cold water. Later, he’d had a wonderful lunch with his fiancé only for it to be ruined by his fiancé’s offensive scheduling conflicts. To make matters worse, he now had to meet with Reyna’s former fiancé, who he hadn’t seen since he was a child and had no desire to meet with. Nico’s mood was too sour to enjoy the Expo, so he stayed inside and sulked for the rest of the afternoon while Reyna continued to work on her reports. When Reyna started to collect her papers and informed him that Jason should arrive momentarily, Nico was still simmering in irritation.

Jason’s blond hair was much more well-groomed than Will’s, which only made him look pretentious, in Nico’s opinion. He also wore a pair of ridiculous spectacles, and his eyes were not nearly as pretty as Will’s. Nico hated him instantly.

Jason was accompanied by a woman who Nico hoped was a new suitor. Like Jason, she was blond, but their similarities in appearance ended there. While Jason’s smile was meek (and, quite frankly, annoying), this woman exuded an air of intensity that reminded Nico of Reyna. She even wore her hair up in a simple, elegant style that was similar to Reyna’s and they both wore gowns with the same functional style. It appeared Jason favored a particular type of woman.

Nico tried to smile when Jason greeted him, but it probably looked more like a grimace. “I am glad to see that you have arrived safely,” Nico said, even though a large part of him thought that it would have been better if Jason had run into some bad weather that delayed his visit until after Nico had left the city, taking Reyna along with him.

“The same to you, Prince Nico,” Jason replied. “I hoped to have the chance to meet with you while in the country.”

I’d hoped to avoid it, Nico thought bitterly.

“I don’t believe we’ve met since we were children,” Jason continued.

“We have not,” Nico coldly confirmed. I wish it would’ve stayed that way.

“And I look forward to becoming friends again.”

“Right.” No. Absolutely not.

Jason cleared his throat and waved the woman beside him forward. “And this is my adviser, Lady Annabeth,” Jason said. Annabeth bowed.

So she wasn’t Jason’s suitor; a pity. However, Nico knew that Annabeth was already engaged, which at least meant that she wouldn’t try to take Reyna away from him.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Annabeth,” Nico said politely. Annabeth was quite famous, and not just because she was engaged to marry King Poseidon’s second son. She was the ward of the notorious heretic Athena, Emperor Zeus’ eldest and only legitimate child. In the most scandalous event in modern memory, Athena publicly rejected the existence of the Protogenoi—and not just the Protogenoi, but all gods, even Aegyptian and Scatinavian ones—on the basis that there was “no empirical evidence of their existence.” The scandal had led to her disinheritance, and Thalia, the next eldest child of Emperor Zeus, became the heir to the throne despite her illegitimate parentage. Athena was not cut off from the imperial family completely, however; her intellect proved invaluable and she was hired as an adviser to the Emperor. It had caused quite a stir when she returned from a visit to Scatinavia with a young girl and announced that she was her ward.

“And an honor to meet you, Your Highness,” Annabeth replied.

Having introduced his adviser, Jason turned to Reyna and offered her a nervous smile. “Lady Reyna,” Jason greeted. “It has been a long time.”

Nico tried to bury the flash of irritation that was sparked by Jason even addressing Reyna. True, he did not know what exactly had transpired between Reyna and Jason when Reyna broke off their engagement, but Nico was not going to let Jason take her back.

“It has, Your Highness,” Reyna replied. Nico rarely saw Reyna’s composure break, but she looked clearly uncomfortable to see her former fiancé. He took that as further evidence of Jason’s bothersome nature. “I am glad to see you are well.”

“Yes, and the same to you,” Jason said too quickly. His eyes darted around, looking anywhere but Reyna, and Nico could tell that neither of them wanted to continue the conversation.

“Why don’t we sit down?” Nico suggested. “And perhaps we can fetch a runner to bring us tea, Lady Reyna?”

Reyna looked both relieved and suspicious. “Right away, Your Highness,” she said, fixing Nico with a glare to say ‘behave yourself. I’ll be back in a moment.’

Nico didn’t want to behave. He wanted to make Jason leave. Still, he sat down on a couch beside a dozing Asterion and gestured for Jason and Annabeth to join. Reyna was only gone a matter of seconds before she came back, apparently distrusting Nico’s ability to control himself when he was alone. She was probably right to.

“I had heard that you entered the service of the Pluton royal family, Lady Reyna,” Jason said as Reyna joined them. “It’s not surprising; you always were a talented political theorist.”

Nico narrowed his eyes. Was that any business of his? And how would Jason have known about that? Was he keeping track of Reyna’s activities?

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Reyna said, smiling proudly. Why did she have to smile at Jason? Why did Jason deserve a smile? Everyone knew she was brilliant, Nico most of all. He could applaud Reyna’s skills as often as she wanted. Jason didn’t need to compliment her, too.

“She’s a very good adviser,” Nico blurted out. Reyna looked surprised by Nico’s words, but pleased. Nico did take pride in his adviser; although Nico loved to irritate Reyna, he also had a great deal of respect for her. He probably didn’t tell her that often enough.

“I would imagine so,” Jason said, giving Reyna a weak smile.

“She would have made an excellent consort,” Nico added offhandedly. “It’s a pity she ended your engagement.” He left his implication unstated: She’s mine now, so back off, Spectacles.

Reyna’s lips pursed and she glared at Nico in embarrassment and rage, but she restrained herself from lecturing Nico in front of Jason. Nico grinned back smugly. Although he respected Reyna, he also loved to irritate her.

“I am sure His Highness will have no trouble finding a better consort,” Reyna said, still glaring at Nico.

Jason did not look so sure. Annabeth, on the other hand, looked greatly amused, but she swept to Jason’s rescue anyway. “It seems Lady Reyna was destined to serve elsewhere,” Annabeth said. “To be sure, it was a loss for Jupiter, but there is little doubt that a new betrothal will be arranged soon, especially now that His Highness is approaching his 18th birthday.”

“Of course,” Nico said. Jason could find all the fiancées he wanted, but Reyna was staying with Nico.

“On that topic, I understand that your wedding is soon, is that correct, Lady Annabeth?” Reyna said, wisely drawing the conversation away from herself and Jason. Nico didn’t want to talk about it. Who had brought it up in the first place?

“Yes, Lady Reyna, this spring,” Annabeth confirmed. “If I may, His Highness—that is, Prince Percy—has asked me to deliver a wedding invitation to the Pluton royal family in person.” Annabeth reached into the pocket hidden in her skirts and procured a sealed envelope, then she stood and offered it to Nico. “His Highness would be honored if your family would attend.”

“Thank you,” Nico said as he accepted the envelope. When Nico was young, he had greatly admired Percy, but those feelings were all but forgotten. It was not long after the inauguration that everything went wrong—first Lady Maria, then Bianca and the beginning of those horrid years on the countryside. The whims of a smitten child became irrelevant when Nico’s entire life crumbled to dust.

Nico pushed the memories away. It was all in the past; true, he might have felt a twinge of disappointment when he returned from the countryside and learned that Prince Percy was engaged, but he had gotten over it fairly quickly. Percy wouldn’t have wanted him, anyway.

“I must deliver this to the Palatium de Divitae, but I am sure I will be able to attend for my family,” Nico said.

“The Prince will be eager to hear from you,” Annabeth said before taking her seat again.

Nico hoped his father would permit him to go; a part of him had always longed to travel. He had not had the opportunity to do so in his childhood, when he was confined to the manor on the countryside during the outbreak of the Scarlet Delirium. In recent years, he had not travelled outside of Pluto’s borders—it was even rare to leave Divitia.

As a puella from the kitchen arrived with their tea, Nico considered that if he attended the wedding, he would travel across the entire Juvian Empire to reach the Prata Pontia before sailing to the archipelago of Neptune. Perhaps he might even be able to veer south and go to Diana. If it was early spring, Will might still be there. Nico could visit him. Nico could even take Will to Neptune with him, if allowed. “May I bring my fiancé if he is able to accompany me?” he asked before he could think to hold his tongue.

“Of course,” Annabeth answered, but before she could say anything else, Jason interrupted.

“You are engaged?” he asked. “I had not heard.”

“He is indeed,” Reyna answered, not even giving Nico a chance speak. “It was recently formalized. His Highness is quite pleased with the arrangement; I am sure he has much to say on the matter.” She gave Nico a triumphant smile. Nico scowled.

“Yes, I have a fiancé,” he said. “Lord William, son of the Duke of Diana. He is in the city, although he is currently occupied with consor business.” Nico tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone when he said that; he didn’t need Jason thinking that he was any more or any less than content with his intended.

“We have met him,” Annabeth said, turning to Jason. “It was very briefly at the Grand Expo in Olympus several years ago, Your Highness. If you recall, he accompanied his aunt, the Matestra.”

“You are engaged to the Matestra’s nephew?” Jason said. “My, Prince Nico, that is quite a match.”

Had Jason not made the connection when Nico informed him that his fiancé’s father was the Duke of Diana? Thickheaded idiot.

“It may have taken many, many failed attempts before Lord William arrived, but it was well worth the trials we endured to find His Highness a husband,” Reyna said with a saccharine smile.

Nico made a mental note not to embarrass Reyna in front of her former suitor again. He’d prefer it if he didn’t have to speak to her former suitor ever. He didn’t want Reyna to talk to Jason, either; Nico hadn’t expected to feel so insecure about that. He knew that was ridiculous and selfish of him, but the idea of Reyna leaving terrified him. Reyna was his only friend in Divitia. If she left, he’d be alone.

Again.

Maybe try to be nicer to her, suggested a voice in Nico’s head. If you’re not nice, she’ll want to leave.

Nico took a deep breath to settle his boiling temper. “Yes,” he said, finally managing to respond to Reyna’s goad. “Will has the potential to be a suitable consort.”

“Will?” Jason asked. “You call him Will? How long have you known him?”

Nico cleared his throat. “Well...I....”

“Not yet a year, Your Highness,” Reyna answered for him.

“But we write to each other—” Nico started, then he cut himself off. Jason didn’t need to know that.

“They exchange letters on a nearly weekly basis,” Reyna finished anyway.

“I’m only trying to get along with my future husband,” Nico insisted, careful to keep his tone as even as he could.

“I’m surprised I haven’t heard of it before now, with his father being the Duke of Diana,” Jason said.

“As Lady Reyna said, it only became official a short time ago,” Nico said, then he muttered, “A month, a week, and four days, to be exact.”

Not that he’d been counting.

“But that’s enough about my engagement,” Nico said before Reyna could do something else to embarrass him out of retribution. He quickly searched for another topic without much success. This was not going well; Nico couldn’t even have a conversation. Nico hated conversations. He was terrible at them. Nico hated Jason, too. By the gods, Jason was obnoxious. Stupid spectacles.

“Prince Nico is fond of fencing,” Reyna said, once again sweeping to Nico’s rescue. Nico was relieved; at least she wasn’t too mad at him.

Fortunately for Nico, Reyna always knew how to balance uncomfortable conversations; Jason immediately began to rhapsodize about his love for the sport. Annabeth, apparently, enjoyed fencing as well, and Reyna had been one of the most skilled fencers in Venadica before she moved to Divitia to serve the royal family. She and Nico liked to spar together when they had time to spare.

While Jason was busy enthusing about the Juvian school of fencing and its differences from the Pluton and Neptonian schools, Nico caught Reyna’s eye and nodded to her thankfully. He didn’t know how he would ever manage to make it through meetings like this without her. In spite of his communications lessons, Nico was awkward and quite often rude—sometimes on purpose, but other times on accident. Nico was not a speaker, but Reyna was. When Nico lacked the qualities of a good prince—which he often did—Reyna was always there to step in. She was the real royal of the two of them.

She’s not leaving, Nico tried to tell himself. He didn’t believe it.

By the time they had to leave for their dinner appointment with Artemis, Annabeth had informed them that there would most definitely be a fencing competition during the festivities held in honor of her wedding to Prince Percy, and they had all agreed to enter. Mostly Nico was looking forward to utterly vanquishing Jason. If only he could use a weapon heavier than a foil.

Artemis brought Thalia with her to the dinner, and she was embraced by both Jason and Annabeth in what Nico thought was an excessive display of affection. It made him think about Bianca, and thinking about Bianca made him upset, and being upset made him unpleasant company, so Nico remained silent through most of the meal. At some point, Reyna, who sat beside him at the table, noticed his hands shaking. Her expression told Nico that she was able to guess what had him upset. “Do we need to leave?” she asked in a soft voice, so that no one else could hear. When Nico shook his head, Reyna discreetly waved over one of the puellae waiting on them to ask for a cup of chamomile tea be brought for him.

“Thank you,” Nico said when the meal had ended and Reyna was leading him through the palace, Asterion following at their heels. Annabeth and Jason had remained behind to visit with Thalia, but Reyna had made excuses for Nico to leave.

“Think nothing of it, Your Highness,” Reyna answered.

He wasn’t going to ‘think nothing of it.’ Reyna always cared for him, and she deserved better than the way he sometimes treated her. “And I apologize for embarrassing you earlier,” he mumbled.

“I asked you not to bring up the engagement.”

Nico hung his head and fiddled with the buttons on his coat. “I know, and—”

“I knew you’d do it anyway.”

Nico sighed in shame. “Lady Reyna, I...I truly am sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t right.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Reyna agreed. She suddenly stopped walking and turned to face him. “But I embarrassed you, as well. I should not have teased you the way I did in front of Prince Jason. I also apologize.”

“Oh,” Nico said in confusion. “Well, of course. You did not even need to apologize—”

“Yes, I did,” Reyna said, silencing him with a look. “And I think we should talk about this, Your Highness.”

“Right,” Nico mumbled. “I—”

Reyna held up her hand. “I ask that you allow me to speak. I should have made this clear to you already and I apologize for not doing so. Your Highness, everything that occurred between myself and the Prince is in the past. The reason I do not talk about it is because I do not consider it to be of much importance anymore; to me, it feels like it happened in a different life. I chose to take my Oath rather than marry Prince Jason, and I have never regretted that decision. Since then, I have devoted myself to three things: the Sorority, Pluto, and you. As long as you’ll have me, that will not change. Do you understand that?”

Nico swallowed. “Then...you won’t leave?”

“Do you want me to?”

He shook his head quickly.

“Then I’m not leaving.”

Nico felt as though a weight had been lifted off his chest, finally allowing him to breathe again. “Thank you, Lady Reyna. I needed to hear...I...I shouldn’t have behaved the way I did this evening.”

Reyna looked him over calmly. “We both made some mistakes earlier, but we’ll do better tomorrow, won’t we?”

“Yes, Lady Reyna.”

“Good,” Reyna said, starting to walk again like nothing had happened. “Now, before I take you back to your chamber, there is another meeting I've arranged for you today. I did not receive a final confirmation until just prior to sitting down for dinner, so I apologize for the late notice.”

Nico sighed tiredly. Hadn’t he had enough conversations for one day? First there had been the disappointment with Will, then the Jason fiasco, then he had to sit through a meal with Jason and Thalia reminding him of his dead sister, all while doing his best to behave in front of the Matestra, who also happened to be his fiancé’s aunt, and then he had an exhausting talk with his adviser. “Alright,” he relented, thinking that he should behave to make Reyna’s job easier. “With whom?”

“Lady Hestia,” Reyna answered.

Nico looked at Reyna in surprise. “Lady Hestia?” he repeated. He rarely got the chance to see Hestia alone anymore. He had tried to speak to her when she visited the Privilla with Will and Artemis the year before, but they had only managed to exchange a few words when she found the time to meet him late one evening after Artemis had retired. “Thank you, Lady Reyna,” Nico said, feeling truly grateful that she had gone out of her way to arrange that for him, especially considering that Nico was not sure if Reyna and Hestia got along.

“I knew you would want to see her, Your Highness,” Reyna replied. “She is quite busy with the Expo, but she made time.”

“I’m glad. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to speak to her.” Now if only Will would make time for him, too.

“You could always ask me to set up a meeting, Your Highness,” Reyna pointed out.

Nico’s eyes wandered away from Reyna. “I...I was not sure that you would be comfortable with that.”

“Why would you think that, Your Highness?” Reyna asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“Well, you were both....” Nico trailed off. Reyna and Hestia had been the two final candidates to become Nico’s adviser. Nico had requested Hestia specifically, but Artemis had suggested Reyna instead, stating that Nico and Hestia had too much of a personal history. Hestia had agreed, so Nico reluctantly acquiesced. He was, of course, very pleased with Reyna now that he had spent time with her, and he trusted her despite his inclination to be suspicious. Reyna had become just as important to him as Hestia. Nico worried that Reyna felt self-conscious about Nico requesting Hestia, but if she did, she never showed it.

Reyna shook her head. “That never caused any problems with Lady Hestia and I. I have told you this before, Your Highness. Now, Hestia should be waiting for you. I’ll wait outside the room for you, then I will escort you to your chamber for the night.”

“Thank you,” Nico said again when she stopped in front of a door.

Reyna smiled at him before knocking, and, at a call from inside, she opened the door for him. “Take your time,” she said as he and Asterion passed her.

The drawing room he entered was not large; it was a cozy space with cream papered walls and a tin ceiling. One wall was lined with windows overlooking Aether’s Square, which was beautifully lit as always. There was a tea tray waiting on a table and two large, inviting chairs by the window. Hestia was standing in front of one.

Nico smiled; he always felt better when he saw Hestia. She was older than Nico—close to Reyna in age—and she exuded a constant air of comfort. As a soror, she always wore silver, but whenever Nico thought about her, he pictured her the way she dressed before joining the Sorority: usually warm shades of brown in simple, practical designs. She still favored the simpler style of dress, as most sorors did, but it always took Nico a moment to adjust to seeing her wear silver.

“I’m glad to see you, Lady Hestia,” Nico said, bowing politely. “Thank you for meeting me.”

“It is my honor, Your Highness,” Hestia answered, bowing in return. “I’m afraid we cannot meet for long this late in the evening, but I am glad to have made the time. Would you like to sit down? Tea?”

“Yes, thank you.” Nico took a seat in one of the chairs by the window. Really, he’d had enough tea for one day, but he’d always preferred the way Hestia made it.

“I see Asterion is doing well,” Hestia said as she filled their cups. Asterion was busy sniffing the hem of her skirt with interest.

“Yes,” Nico said, taking his tea when Hestia offered it to him. “He’s becoming less timid.”

“I noticed that when I saw him at the Privilla,” Hestia said as she settled in the chair next to Nico’s. Asterion followed her to continue sniffing her skirts, and Hestia patted his head fondly. “Will has a way with animals, but Asterion still took to him more quickly than I expected.”

“He’s growing,” Nico said, looking fondly at his dog.

“So, I think, is his master.”

Nico smiled over the rim of his cup. “I’m hardly the child I was when we first met, Hestia,” he said in amusement. “And neither are you.”

“Not at all,” Hestia agreed. She was quiet for a moment while she gently stroked Asterion’s ear. There was a moment like that between them whenever they met. they’d exchange pleasantries, then they would be silent as they remembered everything that had happened during the years of Nico’s exile in the countryside while the Scarlet Delirium rampaged through Pluto. Because of Hestia, Nico hadn’t been completely alone. She had been a maid in that manor—the Lotussium, as it was called. Nico thought the name Tartarus pit might suit it better.

Nico and Hestia never spoke about the Lotussium anymore other than to make a few passing comments about how things were better than they had been. Neither of them wanted to discuss it more than they had to. Nico tried not to think about it at all.

“Tell me about your engagement,” Hestia said. “I know enough from Will, but I’d like to hear your perspective.”

Nico blinked in surprise. “Does he talk about me?”

“Quite often, yes,” Hestia answered. “He was excited when he heard you were coming to the Expo.”

Nico scoffed and slumped in his chair—his posture didn’t matter to Hestia. “Well, I’ve hardly seen him since my arrival.”

Hestia nodded. “Unfortunately, he has a very full schedule. The Expo has us all busy.”

“But I expected at least a walk, and I haven’t even gotten that much,” Nico protested, absently swirling his cup.

“Perhaps let him know you would like that,” Hestia suggested. “It could give him an excuse to make more time for you, when he can.”

“But I have asked him. He has said no.”

“Then he either has very important duties that he cannot work a way out of—which is probable, as he is scheduled to present his research soon—or he does not realize that you want to spend time with him. I would think it is most likely both.”

Nico frowned at her. “How would he not know? I have asked.”

Hestia chuckled. “Will can be rather oblivious, Nico, and you often do not make your motives clear. He thinks you ask if he has time to spare only out of obligation and that you are in Venadica for diplomatic purposes.”

“I am here for diplomatic purposes,” Nico protested.

Hestia raised an eyebrow. “Are you?” she asked.

Nico opened his mouth to answer in the affirmative, but no sound came out. He sipped his tea instead.

“Lord William does not realize you are here to see him,” Hestia went on. “He never once considered that you would want to spend time with him, other than a few obligatory conversations. However, he would very much like to spend time with you.” Hestia took a sip from her teacup before setting it on the table beside her and folding her hands on her lap. “Aside from his scheduling issues, are you happy with Lord William?”

“Yes,” Nico answered. “He’s very kind and he always smiles. I thought that was only in an effort to be respectful, but he really is like that all the time, isn’t he?”

“Undoubtedly.”

“I like reading his letters,” Nico went on. “I’m glad to know he hasn’t forgotten me. He’s always the same—always polite, always kind. He writes about his family and peers, his schooling, and Expo preparations. It’s like writing to a friend. Like writing to you, Hestia—which, by the way, you ought to do more often—except Will....”

“Except Will’s more charming?”

“Well, yes, but don’t think that you aren’t charming, as well; I only mean that with Will, it’s....”

“He’s courting you,” Hestia finished with a knowing smile.

“He’s...yes. Yes, he is.” Nico frowned in thought. “I’ve never been courted before.”

Hestia continued to give him that same smile. “Well, he’s never courted anyone the way he tries to court you.”

“So then he truly does think highly of me?”

“Yes, very much so. You are on his mind all the time.”

Nico blushed, tightly gripping his teacup. Will was on his mind quite often, as well, if he were honest. He was always anxious for Will’s next letter. Every time he went to the stables, he thought about how he could take Will out for rides the next time he came to visit, or perhaps after their wedding. He had shyly asked Persephone a few questions about southern Jupiter, which had led to one or two conversations about things that might make Will feel more at home in Divitia. Nico even kept Will’s letters, and every so often, late at night when he couldn’t sleep, he’d reread them by candlelight until he was too tired to hold his eyes open.

“He will be a good husband,” Nico said.

“I agree,” Hestia said. “I know I can trust him to care for you. No one deserves to be cared for as much as you, Nico.”

True to her word, Reyna was waiting patiently outside when Nico entered the hallway after wishing Hestia goodnight. He was quiet while Reyna led him back to his room, lost in his own thoughts until Reyna asked, “Did you enjoy your talk with Lady Hestia?”

“Yes, I did,” Nico said. “Truly, Lady Reyna, thank you for arranging that for me. I...I didn’t even ask for it.”

“You can always ask, Your Highness,” Reyna said. “I know what she means to you. I do not want you to worry about asking.”

Nico took a deep breath. Despite what Reyna had said earlier, Nico still felt like he had to explain himself. And, after all, hadn’t Reyna been honest with him about Jason earlier that evening? “Lady Reyna, you know that Lady Hestia and I...well, I’ve told you about what happened,” he said. “You know that I have a special relationship with her. So when I requested her, it was because I already felt comfortable around her, but that request was several years ago. In that time I’ve also developed a relationship with you and I hate to think that you feel uncomfortable about Hestia because I am very happy with you.”

Reyna shook her head and slowed to a halt as they reached Nico’s room. “As I said before, Your Highness, there has never been an issue. Perhaps at first, I worried that I was not what you wanted, but that was long ago. Lady Hestia and I have different relationships with you; she is your friend and I am your adviser.”

Nico frowned. “But you are my friend, as well, are you not?”

Reyna gave Nico a barely perceptible smile. “Yes. I like to believe that I am.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“As am I. Sleep well, Your Highness.”

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